The U.S. Department of Commerce settled with Applied Materials for $252 million for illegally exporting chipmaking equipment to China’s SMIC. The shipments were made through South Korea to bypass restrictions on exports to SMIC due to its ties to the Chinese military.

Applied Materials shipped ion implanters to South Korea for assembly before sending them to China without the required export license. The company made 56 illegal shipments totaling about $126 million to SMIC in 2021 and 2022.

Applied Materials reached a settlement with the Department of Commerce and received notification that related investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission were closed without action. The $252 million penalty is the maximum allowed by law.

The Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment, while the Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment on the case involving Applied Materials and its illegal shipments to SMIC. The penalty of $252 million is twice the transaction value and the maximum allowed by law.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Applied Materials to pay $252 million over illegal exports to China