A $30 million athlete facility being built in London uses wood sources from protected Tasmanian forests, according to results of a six-month probe. The wood is used for the flooring of the sports hall.

The investigation identified Ta Ann, a Malaysian logging company, as the one that supplied the timber used for the construction of the sports facility that will host a thousand athletes and coaches from Team USA in the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games.

The timber was procured by Ta Ann Holding, which allegedly has a track record of rainforest and Orangutan habitat destruction in Borneo. The Malaysia firm had a deal with Avon Plywood in Bristol, which in turn sold the wood to Dynamik Sport Surface - the contractor for the Olympic project, according to researchers from Markets for Change who conducted the investigation.

Among the evidence gathered by the researchers are photos of the construction site showing crates of Tasmanian Eucalypt plywood with markings that identify Ta Ann Tasmania as the source.

"Tasmania's high conservation value forests are at the centre of a process which promised a moratorium on 572,000 ha of forests in March 2011. This proposed moratorium has not been implemented, meanwhile logging in these contentious areas carries on and Ta Ann continues to receive timber from these areas and supply veneer to projects such as the Olympics," Campaigns Coordinator for Markets for Change Louise Morris said in a statement.

Ms Morris said that Ta Ann must stop sourcing wood that it exports from areas earmarked for protection. She urged clients of the Malaysian firm such as International Plywood to review their contracts with Ta Ann to end UK's unwitting participation in forest denudation.

She indicated that Ta Ann is possibly also exporting timber sourced from rainforests in Borneo and being used to build the Olympic facility for athletes. Ta Ann labels its timber eco wood and carries a Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.

Ms Morris pointed out that nine leading global environment groups including Greenpeace have attacked the scheme for green washing and its use of misleading language. She added that when Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Games, the organisers committed to exclusively use Forest Stewardship Council certified timber for its Olympic venues.

Upon learning about Ta Ann's operations, Malaysian MP Baru Bian from Sarawak visited Tasmania's forest and warned the Malaysia firm to stop sourcing its wood from Australia which it even buys at discounted prices from Forestry Tasmania.

Greens Senator Bob Brown, who met the Malaysian MP, said Ta Ann came to Tasmania as a Trojan horse to justify its woodchipping.

In response to Mr Brown's charges, Ta Ann Tasmania denied it was buying wood at lower prices.

"Our business is based on low-quality, pulpwood-grade logs which are otherwise made into woodchips and we pay a premium," Ta Ann Director David Ridley was quoted by The Mercury.

Mr Ridley said Ta Ann employs 160 people and estimates it will add $45 million into the Tasmanian economy in 2011.

Ta Ann Malaysia has a 30 per cent stake in Gran Perfect, which has pending court cases in the country over illegal logging.