US, Microsoft reach settlement over tech its sanctions violations
The United States and Microsoft Corp reached a settlement on Thursday over the tech firm's apparent violations of sanctions and export controls, which it disclosed voluntarily, the government and the company said. Microsoft has agreed to remit about $3 million to settle its potential civil liability for more than 1,300 apparent sanctions violations in relation to restrictions on Cuba, Iran, Syria and Russia involving the export of services or software from the US to sanctioned jurisdictions, the US Treasury Department said in a statement. The Treasury Department added that Microsoft's conduct was "non-egregious and voluntarily self-disclosed." A majority of the violations, which took place between 2012 and 2019, involved blocked Russian entities or persons located in the Crimea region of Ukraine, and occurred as a result of Microsoft's failure to identify and prevent the use of its products by prohibited parties, the Treasury Department said. ...