Russian engineer detained in the Netherlands for industrial espionage
A 43-year-old Russian native and employee of the microchip manufacturing company NXP, Herman A., has been apprehended in the Netherlands on charges of industrial espionage, reported local media outlets The Insider has uncovered that the individual in question is Russian engineer Herman Aksenov. At various times, Aksenov worked for Dutch companies ASML and Mapper. Investigators allege that for several years, he stole critical company documents, such as microchip operation manuals, and supplied them to Russia for tens of thousands of euros. Beyond facing criminal prosecution, Aksenov has been banned from entering the Netherlands for 20 years. Local journalists note that such measures are applied in cases of threats to national security.
In 2023, Mapper went bankrupt and was acquired by ASML. Reports indicated that the Dutch government, under pressure from the Pentagon, was compelled to request ASML to proceed with the acquisition—the American military leadership feared that Mapper’s laser technology might fall into Russian or Chinese hands following the bankruptcy. According to leaks from Russian databases, in 2016, Aksenov also worked at OAO “NIIME and Mikron,” which is involved in developing multi-electron beam lithography technology. Furthermore, according to Dutch media, Aksenov was employed at LLC “Mapper,” a subsidiary of Mapper in Russia.
As reported by The Insider, LLC “Mapper” is one of five Russian companies utilizing ASML's lithographic equipment for microchip production. Domestic production in Russia is economically unviable, and modern technology levels are unattainable; however, the military may have its own reasons for why domestic production is preferable for their applications. Since 2018, LLC “Mapper” is no longer owned by the Dutch Mapper but is now held by the company “Astron,” which also manufactures drones and thermal imagers. According to The Insider, “Mapper” imported in 2023 an American argon laser for scanning semiconductor wafer surfaces to detect defects, the KLA-TENCOR SURFSCAN 6200, which can identify particles as small as 200 nanometers.