California company settles proposed charges over illegal shipments to Russia

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) -A California company that illegally shipped transistors and other items to Russia last year that it could use in radar and avionics systems for its war on Ukraine settled proposed U.S. charges, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.

Integra Technologies, a radio frequency and microwave power solutions company, sent $6.67 million worth of the transistors and related items to eight Russian customers in 94 shipments between February and October 2023, according to the settlement agreement.

As part of the settlement, the Commerce Department imposed a civil penalty of $3.3 million, reduced because the company self-disclosed the violations and cooperated. The department also suspended $1.5 million due to Integra's finances.

"After Russia's further invasion of Ukraine, the United States imposed extensive new export controls for Russia," John Sonderman, director of the Commerce Department's Office of Export Enforcement, said in a statement. "As these controls continued to evolve, it was critical for any U.S. company that made the decision to continue to export to Russia to closely track and implement updates to the controls. Integra failed to do so."

The U.S., along with other countries, instituted sweeping restrictions on exports to Russia in February 2022 in the wake of the invasion, and then repeatedly tightened the restrictions, including controls on the transistors in February 2023. It also created a list of 50 Common High Priority Items crucial to Russia's war efforts that included the transistors in July 2023.

Integra did not realize until October 2023 that it was violating the export regulations, the Commerce Department said.

El Segundo, California-based Integra Technologies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld)