tiny lemmy 

Dutch court sentences Russian to three years in prison for transferring sanctioned semiconductor technology to Russian intelligence

c/europe · u/Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org · 117 points

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A court in the Netherlands has sentenced a Russian national to three years in prison for violating EU sanctions by transferring sensitive semiconductor technology to Russian intelligence.

German Aksenov, 43, had worked as an engineer in the Dutch semiconductor industry from 2015-2024, including for ASML, a leading manufacturer of microchip equipment, and NXP Semiconductors, a supplier of semiconductor components.

Prosecutors said Aksenov downloaded files containing technical specifications for microchip production from ASML and NXP servers onto a USB drive and external hard disk, which he was expected to hand over to an agent of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow, Bloomberg reported.

According to the court, the information he transferred “can contribute to strengthening [Russia's] military and strategic capabilities. That has consequences for Ukraine and indirectly for international security and stability.”

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Comments

u/tal@lemmy.today · 1 points

I don't know how the Dutch see it, but I'm pretty sure that the US considers extreme ultraviolet lithography to be a technology with strategic importance. That is, it's more than some company's sales at stake.

u/huppakee@feddit.nl · 4 points

Could be, but i believe corporate espionage is gets you a lower sentence. But also happens often when they catch a spy they just throw them out without a court case and sentence or if it's a hostile nation they do sentence them but then try to make a deal or a swap or something so that spy still doesn't get punished.

u/SebaDC@discuss.tchncs.de · 17 points

Yeah. The guy probably got money from someone, will patiently wait 3y without being sent to the front. It's a joke.

It's actually promoting espionage and treason.

u/oneser@lemmy.zip · 9 points

Not to defend the decision, but I wonder if the prosecution couldn't use any sort of "treason" charge, as the act is not against the Dutch people directly?