Marjolein Faber, the Dutch Minister of Asylum and Migration, has imposed an entry ban on a former employee of ASML, manufacturer of chip machines, for a period of 20 years. This type of ban is imposed only in case of a threat to national security, if at all. The Department has not provided any explanation as to why the entry ban has been imposed.
An investigation by Nieuwsuur has revealed that the former ASML employee in question is a 43-year-old Russian engineer. The man is also on trial for several counts of sanctions legislation violations. Over a period of years, he is suspected to have stolen documents, such as microchip manuals, from ASML and from Mapper Lithography chip technology.
The stolen information is said to have helped, among other things, the development of Russian chip production. The man is suspected of having received several tens of thousands of euros in exchange for the information.
ASML has confirmed the theft of proprietary information to Nieuwsuur: "We are aware of the proceedings against a former Mapper and ASML employee. As per our policy, we have also made official reports ourselves. Pending the trial, we do not wish to comment."
The man is still detained in the Netherlands. He is due to appear before the Rotterdam court on Monday in a pro forma hearing, where the court will, among other things, deal with his remand. Neither the Public Prosecution Service nor the Russian engineer's lawyer wished to comment on the matter.
Mapper
The man was said recently to have worked for another Dutch chip maker: NXP. The engineer was trained at Russian universities and used to work for Russian technology companies. He surfaced in the Netherlands in 2015 when he worked for Mapper Lithography, a Delft start-up. That company developed products for the semiconductor industry. In 2018, Mapper went bankrupt, and the technology and employees, including the engineer, were taken over by ASML.
The engineer has several patents in his name for semiconductor industry products.
The takeover of Mapper followed after pressure from the US on the Dutch government. A reconstruction by NRC revealed that it was feared that the knowledge of the start-up might fall into Russian or Chinese hands.
In Russia, Mapper is still active. The company is owned by Astron, a Russian military drone maker. Both Mapper and Astron are subject to US sanctions, which means that no business can be done with either company. The engineer is said to have worked for the Russian Mapper company as well.
Theft in 2019
ASML had been the victim of a theft before. In 2019, Chinese former employees had stolen trade secrets on a large scale. They used the information to set up XTAL, ASML's competitor.
And in 2023, a Chinese employee took information about advanced technology of the company. He later started working for Huawei, another chip maker. "With our unique position and the growing geopolitical tensions in the chip industry, we see increasing security risks", the company acknowledged at the time.
