A Korean-owned Ireland-based semiconductor company is reportedly among companies included in a list of those under U.S. sanctions against Russia.
According to the Irish Times in Dublin, Ireland-based Cubit Semiconductor was included in the sanctions announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Cubit’s top management consists of two Koreans.
The OFAC said the company carried out its business activities in some sectors of the Russian economy that support Russia’s military-industrial base including dozens of shipments of electronic components to sanctioned Russian semiconductor company JSC Micron. JSC Micron was placed on the sanctions list in March 2022 shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Cubit founder told the Irish Times that he was unaware that the company was on the U.S. sanctions list and claimed that Cubit traded only with companies in the semiconductor industry from EU countries.
The previous day, the U.S. Treasury and State Departments announced the sanctions on more than 500 targets to punish Russia for its repression of its citizens, human rights abuses, and invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions, which target Russia’s energy industry and military industrial complexes, among other key sources of Russia’s income, were called “the largest-scale sanctions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Treasury Department.”
On the same day, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added 93 companies to its list of entities of concern as part of the U.S. government’s large-scale counterterrorism sanction.
The list includes Daesung International Trade, a Korean-based company with an address in Sangdong-myeon, Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, Korea. According to government officials, the company is registered in Korea but its CEO is a Pakistani national.
“The companies on the list supported Russia’s industrial sector by obtaining U.S.-made machine tools, parts for them and electronic testing equipment for Russian users without BIS’ authorization,” the BIS said.
In this regard, the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy together with the Customs Service, which has an investigative function, will investigate and probe violations of law and punish and sanction those found to have violated law.
Meanwhile, Cubit Semiconductor, founded by a Korean surnamed Ban in 2010, mainly deals in semiconductor equipment and spare parts. Its customers include Swiss robot automation solutions company ABB and German automotive semiconductor company Infineon.