Bloomberg journalists have found out that Russia uses its own rather effective system of bypassing Western sanctions to acquire the necessary electronic components and dual-purpose goods.
Points of attention
- Russia has developed an effective system to purchase Western goods subject to sanctions through verified channels and intermediary networks.
- Russian military companies receive prohibited Western goods via indirect delivery routes and extensive intermediary networks.
- Despite Western companies claiming to scrutinize the destination of their products, Russia continues to access advanced Western electronics through elaborate bypass schemes.
- Journalists have revealed at least two special marketplaces in Russia that allow verified buyers to purchase sanctioned goods with ease.
- Western companies often fail to prevent their products from reaching Russia, enabling Russian companies to acquire banned goods.
How does Russia manage to buy sanctioned Western goods and circumvent the established restrictions
The journalists refer to the received documents, according to which a number of importers have created special marketplaces to allow Russian customers to freely see available for sale sanctioned goods and their prices.
The authors of the material emphasize that there are at least 2 such marketplaces in Russia, access to which is provided to verified buyers.
From Moscow or St. Petersburg, they can purchase TI components with a few clicks of the mouse, placing orders that are made and delivered through companies outside of Russia, the journalists of the publication emphasize.
In one of the cases analyzed by journalists, a large Russian distributor processed more than 4,000 orders from Russian customers for hundreds of thousands of Texas Instruments products for a total of $6 million.
It is noted that we are talking only about the period from January to August this year. Russian military companies received $4 million worth of goods from these orders.
It is emphasized that deliveries are made through an extensive network of intermediary companies outside of Russia, transiting through Hong Kong or other countries loyal to Russia.
At the same time, the Russian distributor's markup is only 40% of the manufacturer's price.
Why does Russia manage to buy banned Western goods to circumvent sanctions
Western companies producing sanctioned goods often do not take the necessary measures to prevent their products from entering Russia.
US Senator Richard Blumenthal said that the companies "objectively and knowingly do not prevent Russia from benefiting from the use of their technologies."
Although the same Texas Instruments Inc. insists otherwise and says it scrutinizes where its chips are shipped.
