Last year, the most common environmental crimes in Latvia were unauthorized logging and damage to trees, which accounted for 79% of all registered such crimes, according to the report on the activities of the State Police for the past year, writes LETA.
Last year, 186 environmental crimes were registered, which is five fewer than the year before. In 79% of cases, it was about unauthorized logging and damage to trees. The remaining cases were related to illegal hunting, violations of land, water, and forest management regulations, environmental pollution, violations of waste management rules, and forest arson.
The police note that environmental crimes also include tax crimes and money laundering.
As previously reported, at the end of last year, the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS) concluded in its assessment that the risk of laundering funds obtained from environmental crimes committed within the country is not significant in Latvia. However, certain limitations of oversight and control mechanisms, as well as the fragmentation of regulatory frameworks, create a potential risk of illegal activities within the country.
According to the findings of international organizations, environmental crimes are one of the fastest-growing and most profitable types of crime in the world, having direct and indirect consequences for the environment, society, and the economies of states, notes the FIS.
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