Haas, accused of sending material to Russia, denies it
The Haas group was accused on Tuesday of continuing to do business with Russia. In a statement released this Thursday morning, the company denies these allegations.
The American public television network, PBS, recently aired a documentary claiming that Haas Automation, the parent company of the F1 team, continued to sell parts and machines to the Russian military, in violation of US regulations. Gene Haas’ company quickly denied such accusations.
« The report states that at least “18 shipments were made directly to Russia by Haas, with a value of 2.8 million dollars between March 4th and October of last year.” This is a complete lie, as Haas did not make any direct or indirect sales or shipments to Russia after March 3rd, 2022, » claims the statement.
Haas Automation, a manufacturer of machine tools, is the global giant in this field. The company exports its products internationally, including to Russia. Prior to the war, it was collaborating with the Russian and Belarusian company, Abamet Management, a partnership that Haas terminated as of March 2022.
Haas also ensures that these companies remain contractually obligated to comply with all applicable US regulations regarding export controls and sanctions. Haas has implemented a comprehensive export and sanctions compliance program for decades, which includes additional controls and verification processes to ensure that all machines or other items sold by Haas are exported, re-exported, or transferred only in full compliance with US law. This includes making sure that machines are supplied only to authorized end-users and solely for authorized end-uses.
Finally, the company wanted to reaffirm its support for the Ukrainian people by adding that it had provided accelerated delivery of machines manufactured by Haas to the Haas distributor in Ukraine and its Ukrainian customers. These machines, along with the previously supplied Haas machines, directly and indirectly support Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against the unjustified invasion by Russia.
It should be noted that the team had actually parted ways with its driver Nikita Mazepin right from the beginning of the invasion, even before the Russian athletes were banned from participating in international competitions. They had also terminated their contract with their title sponsor, Uralkali.
