https://www.ft.com/content/f28377a1-432b-4f29-8544-e5ec7ac1cab9

A former Amazon employee, Charles Forrest, has alleged that Amazon breached UK sanctions by providing its facial recognition technology to a Russian company after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Forrest claims he was unfairly dismissed from Amazon after he blew the whistle on this alleged sanction breach and other issues. Amazon denies Forrest's claims, stating the allegations "lack merit" and that it did not sell its Rekognition facial recognition technology to the Russian company. Forrest alleged that in 2020, Amazon made a deal with the Russian company VisionLabs to give them access to its facial recognition technology through a shell company in the Netherlands, and that this technology was then used after the invasion. Forrest also claimed that Amazon broke its own moratorium on police use of its facial recognition technology, alleging UK police continued to use it after the ban. Amazon acknowledged Forrest had raised the police use issue, but denied the allegation, stating a self-imposed moratorium does not constitute a legal obligation. The case is being heard in a preliminary employment tribunal hearing in London, where Forrest is bringing a claim against Amazon for unfair dismissal. Amazon denies Forrest's claims of wrongdoing and says he was dismissed for gross misconduct, including refusing to work his contractual hours and failing to attend meetings. Forrest also reported the alleged sanctions breach and other issues to the UK's House of Commons defence select committee and Serious Fraud Office. The outcome of the employment tribunal case is still pending, with Amazon stating it looks forward to demonstrating the "claims lack merit" through the legal process.