NACO finds chips reaching Russia through a Chinese sex-toy maker

China’s Shenzhen NuanQin Technology, which presents itself on its website as a maker of adult products, appears in customs data as a supplier of chips, electric motors and other components to Russia. The data was analysed by Ukraine’s Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NACO).

Depending on their specifications, such parts can serve more than household devices. Chips are used in control, communications and navigation systems, while electric motors can be used in industrial equipment and drones.

More than 8,000 suppliers identified

NACO reviewed more than 180,000 customs declarations and reconstructed a database of over 8,000 foreign suppliers and addresses linked to microelectronics shipments to Russia.

According to figures cited by EUobserver from NACO researchers Viktoriia Vyshnivska and Marta-Mariia Kharynovych, the analysis identified about 1,800 foreign suppliers and more than $800 million in trade involving Western microelectronics in priority categories. A substantial share of the shipments passed through mainland China and Hong Kong.

The supply chains also included companies whose stated businesses involved pharmaceuticals, steel pipes and other civilian goods rather than electronics.

Company names can obscure links

Researchers said companies can change names, be dissolved or be replaced by new legal entities while their physical addresses and trading relationships remain. NACO’s study lists addresses used by dozens of companies, including some linked to sanctions restrictions.

The commission recommends checking not only a counterparty’s name but also its addresses, corporate connections and supplier history.