Ahead of this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Haas Automation have released a statement denying all accusations made by PBS, who recently ran a story stating that the American company had breached U.S sanctions on Russia.
Haas have previously had very close ties to the nation in question, with the side having been sponsored by Russian fertiliser company Uralkali in 2021.
Uralkali were set to sponsor Haas in 2022, before both parties ended their partnership following the start of the conflict in Eastern Europe.
As a result, Haas completed 2022 without a title sponsor, whilst they also were left to find a new driver at short notice after dropping Russian Nikita Mazepin, whose father was the CEO of Uralkali.
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However, Haas have since been accused of shipping machines and parts to Russia since sanctions were put in place by the United States, something which would land them in dangerously deep water with the American government.
The company, though, released a statement on Thursday stating that the story ran by PBS has no truth in it, with no machines or parts having been shipped to Russia since March 3, 2022.
Haas also states that the machines flagged in the story were shipped before the conflict began, and therefore before any sanctions were put in place by export control.
The company confirms that they have always complied with U.S. Government export control.
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Haas’ statement read: “On March 3, 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Haas Automation terminated, in its entirety, its relationship with its sole existing independent distributor for Russia and Belarus, Abamet Management.
“Since that date, Haas has not sold or shipped any machines, parts, or software to Abamet or anyone else in Russia. This crucial fact was made clear to the PBS reporter before the story was aired.
“Haas Automation has been manufacturing machines for more than 30 years, and there are more than 200,000 Haas machines currently in use throughout the world.
“Throughout that period, Haas has been a strict adherent to all U.S. export control and sanctions regulations, and an even stronger supporter of the U.S. policy goals many of those regulations are designed to address.”