US targets defence procurement network in Hong Kong, Belgium and Sweden with Russia-related sanctions
- The leader, Belgian businessman Hans De Geetere, was also charged over a scheme to export military-grade US technology to end users in China and Russia
- The US has stepped up efforts to crack down on Moscow’s efforts to evade Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The United States imposed fresh Russia-related sanctions on Tuesday, targeting a defence procurement network consisting of people and entities in Belgium, Sweden and Hong Kong, among other places, as Washington cracks down on Moscow’s evasion of Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement the network, led by Belgium-based Hans De Geetere, is involved in procuring electronics with military applications for Russian end users. It said the network consists of nine entities and five people based in Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong and the Netherlands.
The US Department of Justice also unsealed two separate indictments against De Geetere related to his scheme to export sensitive, military-grade technology from the United States to end users located in China and Russia, while the Department of Commerce added De Geetere and five entities to its entity list.
“The United States and our allies remain focused on disrupting any attempts by Russia or its trusted agents to gain access to the critical inputs and technologies necessary to support Moscow’s defence industry and facilitate its brutal war in Ukraine,” Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement.
Russia’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. De Geetere could not immediately be reached for comment. Belgian media previously quoted De Geetere as denying allegations of sanctions evasion, and said he stated: “We exported trinkets, not top technology.”
Washington accused the Belgian businessman of being a long-time procurement agent for Russia who serves as the director of several companies in Belgium, Cyprus and the Netherlands.
De Geetere has coordinated the procurement of electronics for Russian customers, including high priority semiconductor devices sought by Russia for its weapons programmes and drone engines, among other items, Treasury said.
The United States has stepped up efforts to crack down on Moscow’s efforts to evade Western sanctions to ensure its measures are enforced.
EU set to ask Xi to stop Chinese firms getting around sanctions on Russia
The United States, European Union and other Western nations have imposed rafts of sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine, including targeting Russian banks and President Vladimir Putin, as the partners seek to hold Russia to account for the conflict that has killed thousands and reduced cities to rubble.
When Russia sent forces into Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow said it was carrying out a “special military operation” to protect Russian security.
The US Treasury Department separately imposed sanctions on 11 entities and seven people in a move it said was aimed at increasing the pressure on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko over what it called his suppression of democratic civil society, corrupt financial enrichment of his family and complicity in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Tuesday’s action freezes any US assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
