Microsoft to pay $3m fine for allowing software to be used in Crimea

The US corporation Microsoft has agreed to pay nearly $3m in connection with a breach of sanctions, including against Russia. This was announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Treasury Department.

Here's What We Know

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have imposed civil penalties on Microsoft. The reason was a violation of US sanctions and export control laws.

The US corporation has contacted the regulators and notified them of the violation. The statement also noted that Microsoft had agreed to cooperate for the investigation.

In the end, the corporation decided to pay nearly $3 million to settle civil liability. The company allowed its software to be used on the territory of the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula by individuals and entities that were subject to US sanctions. OFAC believes that between 2012 and 2019, Microsoft violated 1,339 sanctions programmes when it sold and activated licences to sanctioned users, including in Crimea.

The company also provided server services located in the United States and Ireland. The total value of the services provided exceeded $12 million.

Total fines amounted to more than $3.3 million, but the BIS issued a loan of about $276,000, as Microsoft agreed to comply with the requirements spelled out in the agreement with OFAC.

Source: OFAC