US Sanctions A Malaysian Semiconductor Company For Doing Business With Russia
The organisation was sanctioned for its alleged ties with Russia's military suppliers.
A Malaysian semiconductor company found itself drawing the ire of the US government for allegedly shipping crucial electronic parts to Russia
Russia has been seeking business opportunities with Asian countries following sanctions imposed by major European nations and the US due to its military conflict with Ukraine, its neighbour.
In an Al Jazeera report, Jatronics Sdn Bhd was named among the 300 organisations on the US sanctions list over their links with Russia.
These organisations were listed for their alleged ties with Russia's military suppliers.
According to the US State Department, Jatronics Sdn Bhd allegedly shipped items that could be used by Russia to build precision-guided weapons systems
The parts that were shipped were allegedly listed as Tier 1 items on the US Department of Commerce's List of Common High-Priority Items.
According to a US State Department spokesperson, these parts are "of the highest concern due to their critical role in the production of advanced Russian precision-guided weapons systems, Russia's lack of domestic production, and limited global manufacturers."
"Jatronics supplied these components to companies based in Russia that are supplying Russia's military-industrial complex," the spokesperson said in the report.
Image via New Straits Times
However, the US did not confirm whether the parts produced by Jatronics were actually used by Russia in their military equipment
Between April 2022 and September 2023, Jatronics made a total of over 50 deliveries to eight different Russian companies. One of these companies, OOO Planar, was sanctioned by the US after the war broke out in March 2022.
The US claimed that the total shipments by Jatronics were worth over USD3 million (RM14.1 million).
The Washington-based think tank Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) alleged that the shipped parts included raw materials used in building semiconductors such as microchips and silicon wafers.
Previously, four Malaysian-based companies were sanctioned by the US
The companies were sanctioned in December 2023 for allegedly shipping parts to support Iran's weapons programme.
The US had accused these companies of aiding Iran in producing drones.
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