Taiwan has increased sanctions for violations of sanctions after investigations revealed that Taiwanese machine-tools were reaching Russia via third countries.
Taiwan’s Economy Ministry, according to DW, announced on 1 November 2020 that it had completely halted exports of machine tools which could be used by military enterprises.
After a series media investigations on such supplies, the ministry tightened its export control rules. According to the Ministry, the penalty for first-time violations of sanctions against Russia and Belarus was increased significantly to 1 million Taiwanese Dollars (approximately $30,100).
Taiwan’s Economy Ministry has reported that it is doing “active explanation work” with manufacturers to encourage them to comply with the laws and control final product flow. The ministry claims that these measures are already showing results, as machine tool exports to Russia from Taiwan have “dropped to zero.”
In January 2024, Russia’s The Insider, and Taiwan’s The Reporter, published a joint report revealing that Taiwan was Russia’s primary supplier of CNC metalworking machines for military-industrial companies, despite the pro-Ukrainian government’s stance. The investigation revealed that exports were made through third countries such as Turkiye.
In July, The Insider published another investigation showing that the Taiwanese firm Giant Force had planned to circumvent Russian restrictions in order to supply a device essential for testing heat-resistant rocket casing coating. The publication reported that this scheme involved a Chinese plant of the Taiwanese company, a Malaysian transportation company, and a Kyrgyzbank.
SWR’s investigation on German involvement revealed that Russia received more than 300 automated machines in 2023 from German manufacturers through sanctions evasion. According to SWR’s investigation, Russian military industry, including KamAZ NIR and Industrial Solutions, actively uses German CNC machines from more than 30 manufacturers, including Heller.
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