The United States imposed fresh Russia-related sanctions on Tuesday, targeting a defense procurement network consisting of people and entities in Belgium, Sweden, and Hong Kong, among other places, as Washington cracks down on Moscow’s evasion of Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement the network, led by Belgium-based Hans De Geetere, is involved in procuring electronics with military applications for Russian end users. It said the network consists of nine entities and five people based in Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands.
The US Department of Justice also unsealed two separate indictments against De Geetere related to his scheme to export sensitive, military-grade technology from the United States to end users located in China and Russia, while the Department of Commerce added De Geetere and five entities to its entity list.
“The United States and our allies remain focused on disrupting any attempts by Russia or its trusted agents to gain access to the critical inputs and technologies necessary to support Moscow’s defense industry and facilitate its brutal war in Ukraine,” Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement.
