MIAMI — British luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker International Limited and its U.S. sales arm pleaded guilty this week to two violations of the Lacey Act for using illegally harvested Burmese teak on multimillion-dollar yachts imported into the United States through South Florida, federal prosecutors announced.
Sunseeker agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and implement a compliance plan. The company admitted to incorporating illegal teak into two yachts priced at approximately $2.98 million and $1.07 million, respectively, as well as a teak balcony door intended for a third vessel.
“South Florida is one of the world’s great gateways for luxury vessels, but our ports are not open to illegal goods,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “Sunseeker admitted that illegally obtained Burmese teak was used on yachts imported into the United States. That matters. Trafficking in illegal timber, wildlife, and other protected natural resources harms legitimate businesses, supports corrupt supply chains, and turns the natural world into profit for criminal organizations. This guilty plea, fine, and compliance requirements are a direct step toward accountability.”
The illegal logging of teak in Myanmar has been a known problem since at least 2017. The U.S. has sanctioned the Myanma Timber Enterprise, the sole authorized seller of export teak harvested in Myanmar, prohibiting all transactions by U.S. persons involving MTE property. Sunseeker, which manufactures its vessels in the United Kingdom, previously pleaded guilty in 2023 to three criminal violations of the U.K.’s Timber and Timber Products Regulations and was fined approximately $450,000. The teak Sunseeker imported into the U.S. came from the same illegal supply charged in the U.K. case.
“Congress amended the Lacey Act in 2008 to prohibit the importation of illegally harvested timber,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “By enforcing the law, we ensure a level playing field for companies that follow the law. Timber trafficking is the third most lucrative form of transnational crime, so enforcing the law keeps money from flowing into criminal enterprises.”
The U.S. Forest products industry loses an estimated $500 million annually to timber trafficking through depressed wood prices and lost export opportunities, according to the Justice Department. Assistant Director Doug Ault of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, which investigated the case, said his agency is targeting the supply chains that feed the problem. “Timber trafficking is a transnational crime that damages forests and puts legitimate businesses at a disadvantage,” Ault said. “We are actively disrupting illegal timber supply chains and holding violators accountable under the Lacey Act. This case is part of our ongoing work to protect natural resources and ensure American markets aren’t a destination for illegal goods.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosenfeld and Trial Attorney Emily R. Stone of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case, filed under case number 26-cr-20181 in the Southern District of Florida. Sunseeker is set to be sentenced on Aug. 20.