ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — A 43-year-old Russian was convicted Thursday of breaching international sanctions by sharing sensitive information from Dutch semiconductor chip machine maker ASML and another tech company with a person in Russia.
The man, whose identity was not released in line with Dutch privacy guidelines, was sentenced in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam to three years’ imprisonment. He was acquitted of some of the counts in his indictment, including that he received payment for the information.
“Giving advice and sharing technology with Russia is extremely serious,” the court said in a written judgment. “It can contribute to strengthening the country’s military and strategic capabilities. That has consequences for Ukraine and indirectly for international security and stability.”
ASML is one of the world’s leading makers of machines to manufacture processor chips. The company has an annual turnover of billions of dollars (euros) thanks to its cutting-edge technology. It had no immediate reaction to the judgment.
Rotterdam District Court said the suspect shared information about setting up a microchip production line in Russia. Such semiconductor chips have many uses including as vital components in military equipment like drones that are a key part of Moscow’s war machine in Ukraine.
The suspect showed no emotion as he walked out of the courtroom after his convictions and sentence were read out and translated by a Russian-language interpreter on a speaker phone. He has 14 days to lodge an appeal.
At his trial on June 26, the suspect admitted copying files last year and sending them to a person in Russia using the Signal messaging app.
“I didn’t ask myself if these files were allowed to be sent to Russia,” he said in comments quoted in the judgment. “Yes, I gave advice.”
ASML has been slapped with export restrictions in recent years that are seen as part of a U.S. policy that aims at restricting China’s access to materials used to make such chips.
The case is not the first time the Dutch high-tech sector has been a target for industrial espionage.
In 2020, the Dutch domestic intelligence agency said it had unmasked two Russian spies who were targeting the Netherlands’ science and technology sector.
One of the spies was seeking information on artificial intelligence, semiconductors and nanotechnology, the agency said at the time. “This technology has civil as well as military applications, including in weapons systems,” it added.
