Everytime someone mentions IKEA, the first few things that would pop up on the minds of many (or even most) Singaporeans would be its famous Meatballs, Chicken Wings or the $1 hotdog. This brand has established itself in Singapore as more than a furniture brand but also one that serves delicious food. Yet, beyond this facade is a company that has dipped fingers in illegal logging in Russia via its supply chain.

In this post, we will be looking at how Russian companies associated with IKEA was caught in illegal tree-cutting operations. The companies involved are controlled by a local politician, Evgeny Bakurov, and these companies have specifically been chosen by IKEA because “you send logs faster than we (IKEA) can transfer the money” as bragged by the politician in a promotional video (Lehren et al., 2021).