Over a dozen European and US firms have imported timber from a Brazilian logging company owned by a man implicated in an Amazonian massacre, according to Greenpeace. Valdelir João de Souza, founder of Madeireira Cedroarana, was accused by police of ordering the murder of nine people in Mato Grosso in Brazil, in order to gain access to forest land, in April. Since his indictment, de Souza has been on the run, but his company has allegedly sold products to overseas firms. Greenpeace claims the transactions could contravene Lacey Act and the European Union’s timber regulation.
Over a dozen European and US firms have imported timber from a Brazilian logging company owned by a man implicated in an Amazonian massacre, according to Greenpeace. Valdelir João de Souza, founder of Madeireira Cedroarana, was accused by police of ordering the murder of nine people in Mato Grosso in Brazil, in order to gain access to forest land, in April. Since his indictment, de Souza has been on the run, but his company has allegedly sold products to overseas firms. Greenpeace claims the transactions could contravene the US Lacey Act and the European Union’s timber regulation.