The Swiss Confederation's intelligence service has observed that Russia is trying to acquire sanctioned goods through covert structures and private companies in third countries. This is another possible indication that important goods are continuing to travel to countries suspected of sending dual-use items to Russia.
Transmits UNN with reference to Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
Details
russia is trying to purchase sanctioned goods through clandestine structures and private companies in third countries. The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) has noticed that russia is trying to purchase sanctioned goods through clandestine structures and private companies in third countries.
According to intelligence, the main targets of such attempts are Turkey, Serbia, India, Central Asian countries and China. An analysis of export control data by NZZ am Sonntag shows that exports of such critical goods from Switzerland to some of these countries have increased dramatically since Russia was cut off by sanctions.
In its fall report on the situation, Swiss intelligence formulated an extremely clear warning:
Russia is “intensively” purchasing goods subject to sanctions in Western countries. It has created structures for the purchase of dual-use goods that are more sophisticated than before and will be quickly replaced if they are discovered
“It is clear that there are sufficient financial resources and personnel for the procurement mechanisms to repeat this as often as necessary,” the intelligence report says. This is a “huge challenge” for Swiss export controls.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) is up to the task:
Seco should check exports and try to prevent the circumvention of sanctions.
For reference
In general, Swiss companies that hold a general export license are allowed to export dual-use goods to certain countries without individual inspections. This includes Turkey. However, in mid-2023, Seco introduced a stricter control regime for Turkey. Since then, every export of machine tools that can be used for both military and civilian purposes has been checked on a case-by-case basis.