Software produced by Microsoft Corp has been acquired by entities in Russia and Crimea that are subject to sanctions barring companies based in the United States from doing business with them. 

The products in each case were sold via third parties and Reuters has found no evidence that Microsoft sold products directly to firms or organizations hit by the US sanctions. 

Russian state-owned airspace and defense corporation Almaz–Antey bought more than 500 Microsoft products between autumn 2014 and spring 2017. Those transactions included the purchase and delivery of eight Microsoft Windows Open License Program (OLP) Server licenses for NPO Almaz, a division of Almaz-Antey. The licenses were sold by Moscow-registered company Syssoft, which is mentioned among Microsoft partners on Microsoft’s website.

Almaz-Antey was added to the US government’s “specially designated nationals” list in July 2014. The firm manufactures BUK surface-to-air missiles. 

The “Krym” health resort, in Crimea, owned by the Russian Defense Ministry, in March 2017 acquired 109 Microsoft OLP Windows Server and SQLServer licenses, according to the database. The resort bought the software from the firm Nash Parus, registered in Simferopol in Crimea. 

The administration of Crimea’s Belogorsky District in December 2015 acquired 155 Windows licenses. Eighty were OLP Windows Server licenses, and the rest were Full Packaged Product (FPP) licenses, which are sold off-the-shelf and do not require details of the license holder to be registered. 

NPO Bazalt, a Russian state arms manufacturer, acquired 101 Windows Server licenses in August 2016. The vendor was Moscow-registered firm OOO Ifrit. The procurement documents do not specify if the products were Open License Programs. The delivery of the Microsoft products to Bazalt was confirmed to Reuters by a participant in the deal. Bazalt was added to the US government’s “specially designated nationals” list in July 2014.

State agency Glavgosexpertiza bought 180 Microsoft server licenses in August 2017. The supplier was a company called OOO Nautilius. The products were Open License Programs. The agency was added to Washington’s “specially designated nationals” list in September 2016. The US government cited the firm’s role in reviewing project documentation for the Kerch Bridge, being built by Moscow to connect the Crimean peninsula to Russia. 

When contacted by Reuters, Glavgosexpertiza replied via email that “the company operates within the Russian legal framework”, including on major transactions. Reuters was unable to contact the supplier, Nautilius.