Despite trade restrictions and a declared commitment, Acer continued to sell monitors and PC accessories in Russia via Switzerland.

Over the past year, many tech companies decided to shut down operations in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Acer also made this express promise on April 8th. Reuters believes it has found evidence that Acer would continue to sell products in Russia using a subsidiary in Switzerland.

Detour through Switzerland

Customs data available to Reuters shows that between April 8, 2022 and March 31, 2023, Acer made at least 744 shipments worth $70 million to Russia. This includes monitors and PC accessories, not laptops and desktops. Since the deliveries were made via Switzerland, Acer managed to circumvent the export restrictions of the mother country Taiwan towards Russia. PC accessories have only been subject to the European export ban since December 2022, which Switzerland follows.

Reuters notes that the company has generally not shipped any products subject to export bans. Although sources claim that the manufacturer’s laptops and desktops are still finding their way to Russia. They would then come through countries that have not turned against Russia, such as Belarus. Acer claims that this is impossible and in no way supports it. The brand was very popular in Russia before the war and had a market share almost equal to that of HP and Dell combined.

Call

“We strictly comply with international regulations and trade laws when exporting to Russia,” a spokesman for the Taiwan headquarters told Reuters. The subsidiary in Switzerland could not be reached for comment. In any case, the leak of the report caused quite a stir around Acer. The company’s public relations department will have their hands full making sure its reputation stays intact in this storm.