US Sanctions 8 Hong Kong Companies For Aiding Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

A Ukrainian serviceman of an air reconnaissance squad of the 45th Brigade prepares to launch a Leleka reconnaissance UAV on a position in Donetsk region on June 27, 2023. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

In the latest U.S. sanctions against companies and individuals supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 20 out of nearly 300 companies are from China and Hong Kong. Most of the sanctioned Hong Kong companies provided electronic products for manufacturing weapons.

On May 1, the Department of the Treasury announced a new round of sanctions, targeting nearly 200 entities, including 60 companies from Russia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. As well as 12 Chinese companies and 8 Hong Kong companies. The State Department also announced sanctions on 80 targets.

The Treasury Department stated that the United States would take further multilateral actions to weaken Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine, restrict the Kremlin’s access to revenue, and prevent the illegal acquisition of resources needed for the war in Ukraine. The sanctions will target Russia’s military-industrial base, chemical, and biological weapons programs, as well as companies and individuals in third countries assisting Russia in obtaining weapons or key defense-related production materials.

“The Department of the Treasury is taking action to further degrade Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine, continuing a multilateral campaign to limit the Kremlin’s revenue and access to the materiel it needs to prosecute its illegal war against Ukraine,” reads the statement.

“Today’s actions target Russia’s military-industrial base and chemical and biological weapons programs as well as companies and individuals in third countries that help Russia acquire key inputs for weapons or defense-related production.”

The Treasury Department emphasized that the United States, “along with many international partners, is particularly concerned about entities based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other third countries that provide critical inputs to Russia’s military-industrial base.”

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“This support enables Russia to continue its war against Ukraine and poses a significant threat to international security.”

Hong Kong was not treated differently. In December 2023, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act, listing both Hong Kong and the PRC as “foreign adversaries” alongside North Korea, Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela.

3 HK Companies Procured Drones for Russia

According to the Treasury Department, three Hong Kong companies procured drones for Russia.

Tulun International Holding Limited is a Hong Kong-based procurement intermediary “that represented itself as the end-user of, but ultimately resold, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) boards that were installed in Russian one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by Russian military forces to attack Ukrainian targets, and shortly thereafter recovered in October and November 2023,” according to the Treasury Department.

RG Solutions Limited, another Hong Kong company associated with Russia’s Ultran Electronic Components (Ultran EK), was also named.

Ultran EK is responsible for procuring microelectronic components, including components recovered from Orlan-10 drones used against the Ukrainian military. Between June 8, 2022, and Sept. 26, 2023, “Ultran EK imported 71 shipments of electronic integrated circuits into Russia,” including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) used in drone applications.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ultran EK turned to RG Solutions Limited for microelectronic components. Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 25, 2023, “RG Solutions exported 104 shipments of electronic integrated circuits.” The telegraphic activities conducted by RG Solutions revealed traces of its transactions with Russia involving military electronic components, including invoices, transportation services, microcircuits, compressor spare parts, freight, and contract signing.

RG Solutions is a shell company opened by Maxim Marchenko, a Russian citizen who resided in Hong Kong, according to the Department of Justice. He was indicted by the Department of Justice in 2023 on charges of smuggling large quantities of U.S.-manufactured electronic products to Russia.

The Treasury Department in Washington on March 25, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Finder Technology Limited, the third Hong Kong company, “exported 293 shipments of electronic integrated circuits between January 3, 2023 and December 29, 2023,” according to the Treasury statement.

The Treasury Department stated that the company acted as an intermediary for Russia’s Joint Stock Company Compel (Compel) and continued to export microelectronic products to Compel even after the latter was designated by the Treasury for operating or having operated in the electronics sector of the Russian Federation economy.

4 HK Companies Supplied Technology to Russia

In addition to the above, four other Hong Kong companies were sanctioned for supplying technology to Russia.

HK Hengbangwei Electronics Limited was named for exporting “hundreds of shipments of foreign-origin microelectronics to Russia, including to U.S.-designated Russian technology company Uniservice Limited Liability Company.”

Chip Space Electronics Co., Limited also faces sanctions for its operational activities in specific areas of the Russian Federation’s economy to support Russia’s military-industrial complex.

IPM Limited (also known as B&W Consulting) was accused of exporting hundreds of batches of foreign-origin microelectronics to Uniservice and exporting machine tool parts to Russia. While based in Hong Kong, the company also has an office in Vienna, Austria.

Jinmingsheng Technology HK Co Limited supplied noise-suppressing filters, pressure sensors, and microcontrollers used in Russian missile systems and UAVs to LLC Onelek, a U.S.-designated electronic components supplier, according to the statement.

The company is located in Shenzhen, China, and has an office in Hong Kong.

Company Sends $210 Million in Electronics to Russia

The last Hong Kong company sanctioned, Pixel Devices Limited, was named for allegedly providing electronic products worth at least $210 million to Russia since April 2022. Almost all of these products were imported by Compliga, an IT, equipment, and electronics supplier based in Russia, according to the Treasury Department.

Pursuant to Executive Order 14024, Compliga, Pixel, and another intermediary company based in Slovakia, Carovilli, were sanctioned for operating or previously operating in the technical sector of the Russian Federation’s economy.

Pixel’s website states that the company provides components and subassemblies and “proudly serves businesses in diversified sectors including industrial, data communication, telecommunication, networking, wireless, military, and aerospace.”