Serbia supplies to Russia, used for prayer in Ukraine

2023-11-09 09:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Serbian companies are exporting dual-use goods to Russia, which are the target of Western sanctions because they are used in Russian weaponry in Ukraine - despite a pledge by Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? that his country will not serve as a conduit for circumvention. of United States (US) and European Union (EU) sanctions.

Dual-use goods can be used for both military and civilian purposes.

Among those who have received such goods from Serbia to Russia is the Information Technology supplier who was hit by US sanctions in September. This was explained by Washington as an attempt to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of "the equipment, technology and services he needs to carry out his barbaric war in Ukraine", a Radio Europe investigation has found. Free (REL).

Customs data from the International Trade Database, analyzed by REL, shows that Serbian companies have shipped $71.1 million worth of sanctioned dual-use goods to Russia since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. .

The shipments analyzed by reporters include types of electronics and other equipment categorized as "high priority" by the United States and the European Union because of their use in Russian weaponry that has been found on Ukrainian battlefields.

Since the start of the invasion in February 2022, Washington and Brussels have tried to limit the Kremlin's access to Western components used in Russian military equipment, pressuring governments to combat the delivery of such technologies to Russia through their countries.

Despite calls from Brussels to line up against EU policies, Serbia has maintained historically close relations with Moscow even during the conflict and remains one of the few European governments that has not imposed sanctions on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. .

President Vu?i?, however, told EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi in December 2022 that "no one can bypass sanctions against Russia through the territory of Serbia", adding that his country "will not win money from the suffering of others during the war".

Vucic's office did not respond to a request for comment about Serbian shipments of sanctioned technology to Russia.

REL sent questions to the Government of Serbia and the Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade about how the export controls of such technologies are carried out and whether anyone has been punished for possible evasion of sanctions, but did not receive a response in time for publication of this article.

From Tractors to Sanctioned Electronics
Serbian company Kominvex was formed in 2005 and, until last year, specialized in wholesale of parts and equipment for motor vehicles. The company's website still offers car and truck parts, especially tractors.

Judging by the company's official data, Kominvexi's profitability has been modest: the company earned only $67 in 2018 and $1,600 in 2021.

However, its fortunes improved tremendously the following year, when it began exporting electronic goods to Russia, and its revenues increased a thousandfold to 1.5 million euros in 2022.

In November of that year – seven months after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine – Kominvex changed its registered business activity to wholesale trade in electronic and telecommunications components. Official company records show that Kominvex had only one employee in 2022.

Kominvex began exporting dual-use goods in the months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and continued until the end of August 2023, customs records show. Exported goods include microchips, processors, data storage drives and digital cable communication systems.

Kominvex's owner, Marko Svorkan, a Serbian citizen, declined to answer questions about his business.

Customs data analyzed by RFE/RL's Balkan Service show that Cominvex exported $143.9 million worth of goods to Russia from March 2022 to the end of July 2023, of which $54.3 million fell into the "high priority" categories. ” of equipment and electronics that the US and EU have sanctioned due to their use in Russian weaponry found in Ukraine.

The main companies that received these shipments from Kominvexi to Russia were, Bitteria and Velesstor, according to customs data from the international trade database, ImportGeniu and Sinoimex. REL contacted the two companies in question for comment about their business ties with Serbia, but did not receive a response.

Bitteria, a Moscow-based company founded in 2017, was among dozens of Russian companies and individuals the US sanctioned in September.

Kominvexi exported to Russia in 2022 goods manufactured by the American technology giant, Intel, worth at least 27 million dollars. Intel has repeatedly said it has taken measures to ensure its products do not reach Russia in violation of export controls.

Thirteen of the 15 most valuable shipments of dual-use goods sent by Kominvexi to the sanctioned Russian company, Bitteria, contained Intel products, according to customs records.

Intel told REL that it "does not support or condone" the use of its products "to violate human rights."

Customs data also show that Kominvexi has exported goods to Russia through Malaysia, Vietnam and China.

"Just a little trade"

At least one other Serbian company has exported sanctioned disposable goods to Russia, including Bittria, according to customs records.

The company, Soha Info, is located in the town of Novi Banovki, about 30 kilometers northwest of Belgrade. Between October 2022 and July 2023, this company exported goods worth $18 million to Russia, the data show.

Among those shipments were the export of $6.3 million worth of electronics, which have been designated as "high priority" dual-use goods by the US and EU because they are being used in Russian weaponry in Ukraine.

Soha Info was founded in July 2022, just months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and posted a $6.1 million profit in revenue in its first six months of operation, according to the company's own financial report.

The owner of Soha Info, a Serbian citizen named Dragan Dragas, declined to talk about his company's work with Russian partners when asked by REL. He described his business as "just a little trade" and denied dealing in sanctioned goods. This is where the conversation ended.

Serbian media reported in August that another Serbian company, Goodforwarding, was exporting sanctioned goods to Russia. In a response to REL, the company said it was formed in 2022 to export bananas to Russia, but was unable to carry out commercial activities due to banking restrictions. In a statement, Goodforwarding added that "someone is using" its company to "import sanctioned goods".

So far, the United States has sanctioned only one Serbian company for its role as a supplier of disposable goods to Russia.

In a sanctions notice in June, the US Treasury Department said the Belgrade-based company, MCI Trading, was serving as an intermediary for a Russian firm "which specializes in the transfer of foreign semiconductor technology to companies Russian for the production of microelectronics, including entities that provide microelectronics to the defense industry of Russia"./ REL