A businessman will be prosecuted for illegal logging worth 16 million in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

      On April 9, 2026, at 11:14, Incidents In the Nizhny Novgorod region, the investigation into the criminal case against a local entrepreneur accused of illegal logging on a large scale and the sale of illegally harvested timber has been completed. The materials have been sent to court.

      According to the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs, the defendant, the owner of a sawmill, organized the harvesting of timber in the territory of the Balakhna inter-district forestry with an excess of the permitted volumes. To carry out the work, he attracted three workers who were unaware of the illegal nature of the actions and, at his direction, cut down trees beyond the established limit.

      According to the investigation, from December 2024 to March 2025, more than 400 cubic meters of coniferous timber were illegally harvested. Subsequently, the entrepreneur processed it into boards and sold them, appropriating the proceeds. The damage caused to the regional Ministry of Forestry is estimated at approximately 16 million rubles.

      During the investigation, the defendant's property was seized. The encumbrance affected a land plot, a cargo truck, a tractor, a logging trailer, and two chainsaws.

      A criminal case has been initiated under part 3 of article 260 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("illegal logging of forest plantations on a particularly large scale") and part 1 of article 191.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("acquisition, storage, transportation, processing, or sale of knowingly illegally harvested timber"). The maximum penalty under these articles provides for up to seven years of imprisonment.

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