Despite sanctions, Russia imported more than $1 billion worth of Western chips last year – Bloomberg

Despite the sanctions, Russia imported more than $1 billion worth of American and European chips in the first nine months of 2023. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to classified data from the Russian customs service.

According to the publication, in total, chip imports to Russia reached $1.7 billion in nine months. More than half of the imported semiconductors and integrated circuits during the period were made by Western companies.

They include the American Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices and Analog Devices Inc. and the European Infineon Technologies AG, STMicroelectronics NV and NXP Semiconductors NV.

At the same time, the publication draws attention to the lack of evidence that the companies have violated sanctions legislation. The available information does not allow us to determine who supplied the technologies to Russia, where they were sent from, and when they were manufactured.

The companies stated that they are in full compliance with the sanctions requirements, have ceased operations in Russia, and have implemented processes and policies to monitor compliance. They also emphasized that they are working to counteract the illegal diversion of goods.

“The vast majority of restricted technologies enter Russia via re-exports from third countries including China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The US and the EU have been working to block those routes, focusing especially on a list of high priority so-called dual-use and advanced goods found in Russian weapons in Ukraine or that are critical to making them,” the publication adds.

The EU is currently working on a new package of sanctions, and several member states are calling on the bloc to do more to target companies in third countries, as well as trade originating from those countries, within these proposals.

The publication emphasizes that this trade demonstrates the difficulties faced by the US and the EU in trying to stop the supply of high technology to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The imports allowed Russia to continue producing tanks and other weapons, including missiles, which it uses in its war against Ukraine.