The World - News from Oct. 18, 1987

A French export firm sold millions of dollars worth of sophisticated electronic equipment to the Soviet Union in deals that will improve the Soviet military, L’Express reported. The Paris-based magazine said that items sold by Sogexport allowed the Soviets to produce microchips and superconductive mediums with broad military applications. Sogexport is a Paris-based company that is part of Societe Generale, one of France’s largest banks. Sogexport’s president denied in the article that the company had made illegal exports. American officials said that the case was serious but not as damaging as the case in which a Japanese firm sold the Soviets equipment to make their submarines quieter.