Green carbon, black trade: illegal logging, tax fraud and laundering in the world's tropical forests

This report examines illegal logging in tropical forests, focusing on its scale, methods, and associated financial crimes, including tax fraud and laundering. It outlines how organised networks exploit weak governance, corruption, and advanced techniques to harvest, transport, and disguise illegal timber, often mixing it with legal supplies or channelling it through plantations and trade systems. The document situates illegal logging within broader environmental and socio-economic impacts, including emissions, biodiversity loss, and harm to local communities. It reviews existing regulatory and certification approaches, noting their limitations in addressing criminal activity, and emphasises the need for coordinated international law enforcement, strengthened monitoring, and integrated policy responses to reduce profitability and risk.