On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against a network of companies associated with Belgian businessman Hans De Geetere, which supplied Russia with electronics for military equipment, circumventing sanctions. This information is detailed in the statement from the U.S. Treasury.
As indicated by the U.S. agency, Hans De Geetere has been involved in the illegal export of military technology from the U.S. to China and Russia for many years. This includes programmable valve matrices, semiconductor devices that are currently a priority for Moscow.
De Geetere, along with individuals associated with him, including his brother Tom, owns a series of companies in Belgium, Sweden, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Russia, and Cyprus. In some instances, Hans De Geetere and his network attempted to transport electronics to Russia through Hong Kong and Turkey. De Geetere operates Belgium-based Knokke Heist Support Corporation Management (Knokke Heist), Cyprus-based Eriner Limited (Eriner), Cyprus-based The Mother Ark Ltd (The Mother Ark), and Netherlands-based European Trading Technology B.V. (European Trading Technology).
Among the goods that the Belgian businessman tried to send to Russia were integrated circuits of the same model found in Russian-made drones in Ukraine.
A total of nine legal entities and five individuals are involved in the illegal electronics supply scheme, including Russians Vladimir Kulemekov and Sergey Skvortsov, and Dutch national Kimberley Boon. Sanctions have been imposed against all of them by the United States.
The United States regularly announces sanctions against those who facilitate Russia's military-industrial complex.
