The Ministry of Asylum and Migration of the Netherlands has imposed a 20-year entry ban on an ex-ASML employee. A Russia-connected individual is currently under investigation, suspected of potential espionage and theft of vital microchip documents from ASML, reports Dutch outlet NOS. Per the report from local media, the Netherlands rarely imposes such prohibitions, and they are typically reserved for cases involving national security.
ASML is one of the world's leading tech companies - making bleeding-edge high-NA EUV photolithography machines employed in the fabrication units of Intel, Samsung, and TSMC. This one Dutch firm holds the key to entering the sub-5nm era and recent US legislation has been detrimental for sanctioned companies like SMIC in China. Russia, being on the sanctioned list of countries following a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is also hamstrung by sanctions.
The report mentions that a 43-year-old engineer has been accused of stealing important documents including microchip manuals from both ASML and Mapper Lithography - another company involved in manufacturing lithography machines that underwent bankruptcy in 2018 and was since acquired by ASML. It is suspected that the accused sold these documents to supposedly boost chip production in Russia - likely derived from his Russian background - for tens of thousands of Euros.
"We are aware of the lawsuit against a former Mapper and ASML employee. In accordance with our policy, we have also filed a report ourselves. We will not comment further during the trial."
ASML to NOS
ASML acknowledged these claims and filed a report accordingly. The Dutch public prosecution service and the engineer's lawyers refused to provide further details to the media outlet NOS. The man remains in custody in the Netherlands and will appear before a court in Rotterdam in a pro forma hearing - where the prosecutor and defendant share information to move the case forward - on Monday. The nature of this hearing could mean a lighter sentence is being considered, but we shall see
Technological espionage accusations aren't new and similar cases - at least for China - have been plastered over the wall in the aftermath of US sanctions. It doesn't just stop at ASML, though the lack of EUV technology remains the primary Achilles' heel for Chinese chip manufacturer SMIC - stuck at old DUV machines for 5nm wafers. Russia is following in China's footsteps with lofty goals of producing a 7nm lithography scanner by 2028 though, since the country is currently capable of producing only 65nm-grade chips, that would be quite the feat to accomplish.
