Russian national arrested in the Netherlands for espionage on chip manufacturers

07 February 2025 , 19:36

529     0

Russian national arrested in the Netherlands for espionage on chip manufacturers

A former employee of ASML and NXP, who has been in custody for several months on suspicion of stealing corporate secrets, maintained contact with Russian intelligence.

A former employee of ASML and NXP has been detained in the Netherlands on suspicion of passing corporate secrets to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), NOS reports.

“A former employee of ASML (one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chip manufacturing equipment) and NXP (a Dutch manufacturer of semiconductor electronic components), who has been in custody for several months on suspicion of stealing corporate secrets, maintained contact with Russian intelligence. The Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) has informed the prosecutor’s office about this,” the report says.

It is noted that the court in Rotterdam discussed this message during a preliminary hearing in the case against the former employee.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the report was received on December 23. The country’s intelligence and security service notes that there was contact between a man in the Netherlands and an SZR employee.

The case is being heard by a court in Rotterdam. According to the AIVD, the Russian SVR is particularly involved in collecting information in the field of science and technology.

Thomas Brown