Another six Malaysian-based companies were blacklisted by the US State Department for dealing with Russian-backed operations. Since the technology embargo imposed on Russia due to the war with Ukraine, Russia has been using third parties to meet its domestic technology needs, especially in the military sector.
Malaysian companies currently blacklisted by America are Zeolite Mansford Sdn Bhd (Zeolite), Centrina United Sdn Bhd (Centrina), Gyntec Carbon Sdn Bhd (Gyntec), Moralability Industry Sdn Bhd (Morality) and Melix Global Sdn Bhd (Melix Global).
Russia is believed to be using companies from China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to circumvent sanctions imposed by the United States. This is the reason that even though the sanctions have been in place for more than two years, components such as Western-made processor chips are still found in Russian missiles.
Last June, Jatronics Sdn Bhd was the first Malaysian company to be subject to US sanctions for dealing with Russia. The company, which has been operating since 2003, is said to have sent semiconductor components, wafers and microchips to Russia between April and September 2022 worth $3 million.