General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"The Russian military is purchasing Starlink terminals from SpaceX, with supplies coming from the USA, Europe,
https://sfba.social/@skykiss/112261008902139853The Russian military is purchasing Starlink terminals from SpaceX, with supplies coming from the USA, Europe, UAE, Canada, Germany and Kazakhstan.
This was found out by specialists from the OSINT agency Molfar, who studied the assortment and spoke directly with terminal sellers
orangecrush
(19,611 posts)Deuxcents
(16,310 posts)Anywhere else, too, I imagine
KPN
(15,649 posts)applegrove
(118,759 posts)"SNIP........
Black market Starlink terminals in use by Russian forces in Ukraine, other US foes, Musk claims no knowledge
..........SNIP"
STILL - a billionaire with such a potential to 'turn' a war is something that should be thought through.
ancianita
(36,132 posts)Individuals may be criminally and civilly liable under both the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of the FCPA for direct violations, for conspiring to violate the FCPA, and for aiding and abetting a violation by another, particularly a country like Russia, under Treasury and other sanctions.
I hope that at the very least, Musk is being monitored.
lame54
(35,317 posts)That was just a general statement
applegrove
(118,759 posts)manufacturer has no idea.
msongs
(67,436 posts)applegrove
(118,759 posts)Johnny2X2X
(19,107 posts)But they still have to have a subscription activated and they'd know where they were being activated from and that they were fraudluent. If the Russian military is using black market hardware and then hacking into Starlink, Starlink would know about it.
ancianita
(36,132 posts)TeamProg
(6,202 posts)Cuz Your Brain Eez Rect
littlemissmartypants
(22,740 posts)https://www.firstpost.com/tech/black-market-starlink-terminals-in-use-by-russian-forces-in-ukraine-other-us-foes-musk-claims-no-knowledge-13758192.html
aggiesal
(8,923 posts)we weren't allowed to sell anything with military capability to any foreign country without permission from the DOD and some other agency, I think it was the FTC.
How is SpaceX able to get away with this?
applegrove
(118,759 posts)some buyers. Because this stinks.
FrankChurchDem
(12,690 posts)Treasury. They take matters like this very seriously. I would suspect that they're conducting an investigation but I know their wheels turn very, very slowly.
DJ Synikus Makisimus
(180 posts)The article referenced is rather vague about it. Anyone involved should be charged & convicted if the USA is serious about sanctions. So probably not. Coca-Cola is making record profits in Russia, for example. We care more about corporate profit that accrues to the mega-wealthy than we care about Russian imperialist expansionism and genocide. I've long thought that Musk should have his assets seized, his citizenship stripped and be deported back to South Africa. Fascist pig. DOJ should find a way.
applegrove
(118,759 posts)Fla Dem
(23,736 posts)He can stop whatever transactions are happening with Russia. By taking no action he is responsible.
applegrove
(118,759 posts)Last edited Tue Apr 16, 2024, 04:04 PM - Edit history (1)
Shipwack
(2,170 posts)Remember when he shut down the recievers Ukraine was using to guide vehicles to Russian warships?
If Musk really doesn't know about these black market recievers in Russia (which I highly doubt), it's because he's actively going out of his way to not know.
unblock
(52,308 posts)North Korea is subject to blanket sanctions. Iran as well.
But not Russia. Several different rounds of sanctions actively apply to Russia but it's not 100% everything.
brush
(53,837 posts)WTF is Musk allowed to get away with that now?
I suspect because he's a fucking nazi himself.
DFW
(54,436 posts)It's a common enough structure. For example, since the EU tries to tax any non-EU company on its worldwide income, many non-EU companies wishing to do business there purchase existing EU companies and keep them as completely independent, separate entities. Since it would be grossly unfair for the EU to tax, say, Arby's on its entire US income just because they opened two retail outlets in Frankfurt, Arby's (or whoever) would form "Arby's Deutschland" (or whatever), incorporate there, and let their German operation operate and be taxed where their business is. Whatever is left over after taxes, the owning company, Arby's USA (or whatever it's called) can either repatriate the profits or re-invest them for growth of the local business as they see fit. The owner company in the USA can not interfere with the independence of the foreign entity, or else the independence of the foreign entity could be challenged. Therefore, if Musk owns a company in a foreign country that has no sanctions with Russia, that company can do business with Russia with far less scrutiny. Musk could still get in trouble with the US authorities, but they'd have to do a thorough investigation to prove the connection before they can take action.
I have an ex-pat Iranian friend who has been living in Germany for almost all his life. His family still has a house on the Island of Kish, the Iranian Hong Kong, where Dick Cheney (now in the name of Halliburton) still owns a house. He said that Iran still does business with every country in the world except Israel, sanctions or no sanctions. They just go through third parties/countries.
applegrove
(118,759 posts)need for Musk involvement.
applegrove
(118,759 posts)WarGamer
(12,463 posts)Russia NOT buying from SpaceX.
Russia buying black market units from folks who are breaking the TOS from Starlink.
FrankChurchDem
(12,690 posts)By OFAC to be proactive for which it appears they are not. I'm sure OFAC has taken notice but their enforcement division is in total overwhelm from all the sanctions in the past few years.
BannonsLiver
(16,439 posts)marble falls
(57,162 posts)... seat of the Tesla he put into space.
Shipwack
(2,170 posts)Musk can tell where Ukrainian Starlink receivers are with enough precision that he can turn them off when they are approaching the Ukrainian-Russian border.
At the same time, he can't detect Starlink receivers in Russia, nor do anything to prevent them from being used.
Got it.