OUR Russia continues to import Western microchips needed for its weapons systems through Turkey, as well as through Hong Kong and Estonia, bypassing sanctions, according to the Reuters news agency and the British RUSI (Royal United Services Institute).

In their joint investigation released Tuesday, journalists and experts detailed the international supply chain through which Russia continues to purchase Western computer parts and other electronics.

In their study, they identify a number of little-known importers through which shipments of semiconductors and other equipment enter Russia through Turkey, Hong Kong, Estonia and other trading hubs.

One of the companies operating in this sector is Azu International, which was founded in March 2022, co-founded by Turkish businessman Gokturk Agvaz, when Western countries had already imposed a number of sanctions against Russia, and began supplying electronics to Moscow a week later. . According to Russian customs documents, the company exported at least $20 million worth of electronic components to Russia over a seven-month period, including chips from US companies.

Smart Impes GmbH is a wholesaler of electronics. Before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the German company supplied Western products to its client in Moscow, which until recently imported goods through the Istanbul company Azu International.

Meanwhile, Agvaz told Reuters from his office near Cologne in October that Smart Impex had stopped exporting to Russia due to EU trade restrictions but was supplying products to Turkey. “We cannot export to Russia and only sell to Turkey,” he said. Asked about Azu International’s sales to Russia, he said it was a “commercial secret,” Reuters reported. Contacting reporters again shortly before publication, the businessman assured that Smart Impex “complies with all export restrictions” and “does not bypass Western sanctions against Russia”, while refusing to answer questions about another company, Azu International. Meanwhile, Turkish corporate reports show that Agvaz sold 50% of his stake in the company at the end of November.

“Azu International is an example of how supply channels to Russia remain open despite Western export restrictions and bans on manufacturers,” Reuters reports.

During the seven months of the unprecedented sanctions – from April to the end of October – Russia received at least $ 2.6 billion worth of electronic components, Reuters notes, citing Russian customs data. At the same time, components worth at least $777 million were produced by Western companies whose microchips were found in weapons systems used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine. The investigation mentions the American Intel Corp, AMD, Texas Instruments Inc, Analog Devices Inc, as well as the German group Infineon AG.

Source: APE-MPE, REUTERS.