On Wednesday, Washington announced a new wave of sanctions targeting nearly 400 entities and individuals accused of supplying Russia with advanced technology to support its “war machine.”
The list included one Russian and two Chinese companies exposed in The Insider’s investigations.
“Today’s action targets both individual actors and sprawling sanctions evasion networks across 17 jurisdictions, including India, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Switzerland, Thailand, and Türkiye. In addition to disrupting global evasion networks, this action also targets domestic Russian importers and producers of key inputs and other materiel for Russia’s military-industrial base,” read a press release issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) earlier today.
As per an update to OFAC’s list of Specially Designated Nationals (the “SDN List”), sanctions have been imposed on three companies spotlighted in The Insider’s investigative reporting:
- Tool Company Gut LLC, formerly known as Guhring LLC (ООО «Гюринг»), is a fully-owned subsidiary of the German firm Gühring KG, which manufactures high-precision drills and cutters for metalworking. Gühring KG announced its departure from the Russian market following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, an investigation by The Insider revealed that the company continued supplying its products to companies connected with the Russian military-industrial complex.
- Sinno Group Limited is a Chinese company that supplied AD7450BRZ microchips, produced by the U.S. firm Analog Devices, to Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion. According to an investigation by The Insider published in January this year, these microchips are used in “Kinzhal” missiles, which Russia has repeatedly used in strikes on Ukrainian territory over the past several years.
- Win Key Limited is another Chinese company that supplied Russia with AD9218BSTZ-105 microchips produced by Analog Devices after the start of the invasion. These microchips are used in “Kalibr” cruise missiles, which Russia also deploys against Ukraine, as highlighted in The Insider’s January investigation.
The updated U.S. sanctions list included recently appointed Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivileva (née Putina) — a distant cousin of Vladimir Putin.
Tsivileva’s colleagues at the Russian MoD, Deputy Defense Ministers Pavel Fradkov, Andrey Bulyga, Alexander Fomin, and Viktor Goremykin, along with multiple Russian and international companies, were also added to the list.