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Business as usual on current contracts despite IT sanctions - industry insider

Sanctions by Microsoft that produces software used by most Russian enterprises would not affect already acquired licenses

MOSCOW, May 05. /ITAR-TASS/. American IT firms will keep working with most of their Russian clients, an industry source told ITAR-TASS on Monday in comments on media reports saying Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec and Hewlett-Packard were backing US sanctions over events in Ukraine and were about to disconnect blacklisted companies from their software products.

US companies operating in Russia were obliged to impose sanctions against Russian clients, submitting to US jurisdiction, the source said. But individual firms would have their own methods of complying, in moves being studied at present.

Sanctions by Microsoft that produces software used by most Russian enterprises would not affect already acquired licenses. They would only prevent updates and the signing of new contracts, the source explained.

And while global players did not decide on whether to impose or ignore sanctions in the presence of US and European law, they would continue working on the Russian market with an absolute majority of their customers as usual, a source close to Microsoft said, noting few currently blacklisted Russian companies.

Representatives of 17 IT companies, including Microsoft, refrain from official comment on the issue.

On April 28, the US announced new sanctions against Russia. Recent measures named seven officials. These include two members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, subject to an assets freeze and a US visa ban, and 17 companies linked to the president’s inner circle, subject to an assets freeze.

Sanctions name Oleg Belaventsev, Presidential Envoy to the Crimean Federal District; Sergei Chemezov, head of Rostec state corporation; Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak; Yevgeny Murov, head of the Federal Protective Service; Alexei Pushkov, a lawmaker; Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft oil company; and Vyacheslav Volodin, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration.

Blacklisted companies include among others Sobinbank (Moscow), Moscow-based Bank Severny Morskoy Put (Northern Sea Route), OOO Transoil (St. Petersburg), Stroitransgaz Holding (Nicosia, Cyprus).