Despite economic sanctions, chips from Dutch companies such as nXP and Nexperia still end up in Russia, NOS writes. It discovered that the chip trade is facilitated through intermediaries.According to the NOS and Nieuwsuur, about 60,000 chips from the two Dutch groups were sent to Russia in November. This is controversial because the Netherlands, like many other Western countries, has imposed strong economic sanctions against Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. As a result, high-tech equipment such as chips in particular may no longer be exported. According to the NOS, this will still happen.
Several hundred deliveries are said to have been made to three Russian companies. This would be done by various intermediaries, writes the NOS on the basis of conversations with those involved and inspection of documents. It would mainly concern small Chinese companies that act as intermediaries. China has not drawn up any sanctions against Russia.
The chips come from two companies, nXP from Eindhoven and Nexperia from Nijmegen. The companies themselves say they do not know how the deliveries could have taken place. The companies say they will comply with the sanctions and have their trade vetted. The deliveries do not only come from the Netherlands, but from all over the world. According to the NOS, about six percent of deliveries in November of last year came from here.
It has been known for some time that Dutch sanctions on chips are being circumvented. Last year it appeared that Dutch chips from nXP and Nexperia were used in Iranian drones, which are also subject to sanctions. Russia is using those drones for attacks in Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs already said at the time that was hard to avoid.
