Microsoft to pay $3 million for violating sanctions against Russia and Iran US

Department of the Treasuryannounced the settlement of a dispute about violation of US sanctions by Mircosoft against Cuba, Iran, Syria and RUSSIA.The company disclosed violations “voluntarily” and pledged to pay $3 million

The US Treasury Department has reached an agreement with MICROSOFT to settle a dispute over sanctions violations by the it giant against Cuba, Iran, Syria and Russia: the company will pay almost $3 million for 1.3 thousand violations, the US Treasury said in a statement.

“Microsoft has agreed to transfer $2,980,265.86 to cover its potential civil liability for 1,339 flagrant violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, the Iran Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, the Syria Sanctions Regulations, and the on sanctions against Ukraine and Russia” related to the EXPORT of services or software from the United States to jurisdictions that are subject to comprehensive sanctions, ”the message says.

The Treasury Department stressed that the company's decision to pay the fine reflects the conclusion of OFAC (U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control) that "Microsoft's behavior was not egregious and was disclosed voluntarily."

Microsoft is the largest American software maker. The most famous products are the operating systems of the Windows family, Microsoft Office office suites, software development applications (Visual Studio), various system utilities, as well as business and Internet applications. Products are sold in more than 80 countries of the world, programs are translated into 45 languages. In 2021, Microsoft's capitalization exceeded $2 trillion.

The US Department of the Treasury's investigation against Microsoft was not previously known. The company announced in March 2022 that it would suspend the sale of new products and services in Russia due to the military operation in Ukraine. Microsoft's operating expenses due to the curtailment of work in Russia amounted to $126 million, according to the company's annual financial report. This amount includes expenses for debts, impaired assets and payment of severance pay to employees.

Against the backdrop of Microsoft leaving Russia, users with Russian IP addresses encountered problems downloading and installing Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems, as well as some other Microsoft products from the company's official website. An error occurred while trying to download. In general, the use of VPN services solved the problem, however, when working with some of them, the error persisted.

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Later, the HEAD of Microsoft Brad Smith said that the company is working in Russia "less and less" and intends to curtail operations "until there is nothing left or almost nothing."