KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian semiconductor maker has been slapped with sanctions by the United States last month for allegedly shipping important electronic parts and components to Russia.
Al Jazeera reported today that Kuala Lumpur-based Jatronics Sdn Bhd was among 300 entities on the US sanctions list over their links to Russia's military suppliers.
The report, quoting a US State Department spokesman, said some of the materials shipped by the company to Russia included Tier 1 items on the US Department of Commerce's List of Common High-Priority Items.
Tier 1 items, the report said, refer to those "of the highest concern due to their critical role in the production of advanced Russian precision-guided weapons systems, Russia's lack of domestic production, and limited global manufacturers."
"Jatronics supplied these components to companies based in Russia that are supplying Russia's military-industrial complex," the spokesman was quoted as saying in the report.
The report also noted that US officials did not confirm if components produced by Jatronics were used in Russia's military equipment.
According to the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), a Washington-based think tank, Jatronics made more than 50 deliveries to companies in Russia worth more than US$3 million between April 2022 and September last year.
The report stated that the materials included microchips, semiconductors, and silicon wafers, which are the raw materials for making semiconductors.
Jatronics, according to C4ADS data, made deliveries to eight different companies in Russia, including OOO Planar, which was sanctioned by the US in March 2022.
Al Jazeera, in the report, said the news outlet reached out to Jatronics for comments, but the company declined to respond.
The US, in December last year, sanctioned four Malaysian-based companies for allegedly providing components for Iran's weapons programme particularly to help in its production of drones.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the report said, recently positioned Malaysia as a neutral hub for the semiconductor supply chain amid the US-China tech war, aiming to attract US$100 billion in new investments.