German company supplied technology to Russia via Slovenia despite EU sanctions - Politico
German technology company Kontron could export limited technology to Russia after the European Union imposed a new package of sanctions against Russia.
According to Censor.NET, this is stated in an investigation by Politico.
Kontron used a Slovenian subsidiary to export confidential telecommunications technology worth more than €3.5 million to its Russian subsidiary at the end of 2023. This was done to circumvent several waves of EU sanctions that came into effect in 2023.
The Slovenian subsidiary of Kontron doo sent 11 consignments of products to the Russian subsidiary of Iskra Technologies between July and November 2023.
The products included a dual-use product, the SI3000 telecommunications platform, which can monitor and intercept communications traffic.
The company explained that the deliveries of the sanctioned goods, including dual-use technology and equipment, were related to old orders and were authorised by the Slovenian authorities through previously issued licences. After the 11th package of sanctions in June 2023, the company claims to have stopped all new deliveries.
However, the EU has rules that prohibit the export of such goods even under already concluded contracts, but exceptions are possible, for example, for cybersecurity, medicine or emergencies, if there is a permit from the government of the country where the company is located.
Earlier, Kontron promised to stop working in Russia, condemned the Russian invasion, said it would not invest in the country and would reduce the number of employees in Russia from almost 600 to 240.
However, Kontron is still present on the Russian market through its subsidiary Iskra Technologies. The EU imposed sanctions on the latter in December 2024. Kontron owns almost half of the shares in Russia's Iskra Technologies and actually controls it, as it has the right to buy out the remaining shares. It is not known who owns the other half of Iskra Technologies' shares.
Although Kontron has announced its withdrawal from Russia, its "sister company" Iskra Technologies still operates in the Russian market, receives awards for "import substitution", produces equipment for "Rostelecom", and its systems are already called "Russian". In 2023, Iskra merged with RTSoft, a company with an FSB licence and experience of working with the Russian Ministry of Defence. Kontron claims that these ties are in the past.
In addition, Kontron, namely its Slovenian subsidiary, sent almost 50 batches of SI3000 telecoms equipment to Kazakhstan in 2023 after EU sanctions. The company says that everything is for local use, but Kazakhstan is an ally of Russia, and they have explicitly stated that they are not going to comply with the sanctions.
This may violate EU sanctions. Some European MPs are calling for an immediate investigation into the case, stressing that Germany is weak in reviewing and implementing sanctions.
