Russia buys goods of double value despite sanctions

Microelectronics continue to arrive in russia to circumvent sanctions, including through Turkey.

From April to October, at least $2.6 billion worth of electronic components arrived in russian federation, according to russian customs. At least a third of these products are made by Western companies. In particular, Western microcircuits were also found in Russian weapons systems, Reuters reports.

One of the companies supplying trace elements to the terrorist country is Azu International, co-founded by Turkish businessman Gokturk Agvaz. The company “emerged unexpectedly” in March, and already within a week it began supplying American computer components to ussia. Over the next seven months, the company exported $20 million worth of components to russian federation.

Another exporter of chips to russia is the Turkish company Bion Group. Previously, the company was engaged in the sale of textiles, and recently began wholesale trade in electronics. The main buyer of Bion Group was the newly created russian company Fortap. In total, it imported at least $138 million worth of electronics, including U.S. computer components.” Since the invasion, russia’s access to semiconductors from all sources has been cut by nearly 70 percent, thanks to an unprecedented coalition of 38 countries that came together to respond to Putin’s aggression . No wonder russia is persistently trying to circumvent controls,” the US Department of Commerce said. Instead, a joint investigation by Reuters and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) details for the first time the global supply chain that continues to “feed” russia with Western computer components and other electronics. In general, journalists discovered a galaxy of suspicious companies, such as Azu International. The investigators found out that supplies of technology are still coming to russian federation from Hong Kong, Turkey and other countries.