Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department is

likely to impose hefty fines on some large companies in the

coming months for offenses such as illegally shipping technology

to customers in China, according to a top department official

who left last month.

Matthew Axelrod, as Commerce's assistant secretary for

export enforcement during the Biden administration, pushed for

tougher penalties against companies that violated export

controls on China, Russia and Iran.

He signed off on a $300 million penalty on Seagate

Technology in 2023 for shipping 7 million hard drives to China's

Huawei, which is on the U.S. Commerce Department Entity List

that restricts sending U.S. goods and services to the company

because of its risks to national security.

"We had hoped some major investigations would resolve in

2024, but it looks like it will now be 2025," said Axelrod, who

expects the Trump administration to aggressively enforce export

controls. He is joining the Gibson Dunn law firm on Monday.

Axelrod would not identify the companies under scrutiny. But

one open investigation involves Santa Clara, California-based

chip equipment maker Applied Materials ( AMAT ), which is being

probed by both Commerce and the Justice Department over

shipments to China's top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing

International Co, as Reuters reported in 2023.

Another probe involves San Jose, Calif-based Cadence Design

Systems, a chip design software firm. In 2021, Cadence received

an administrative subpoena from the Commerce department

requesting the production of records relating to certain

customers in China, according to its disclosures. Another

subpoena, from the Justice Department, arrived in 2023.

In a Feb. 21 filing, the company said it began discussions

in December with Commerce and Justice regarding "preliminary

findings of their investigations and a potential resolution of

this matter."

The Commerce and Justice departments did not immediately

respond to requests for comment. Nor did Applied Materials ( AMAT ) and

Cadence TK.

In addition to boosting civil penalties, Axelrod helped

launch a Disruptive Technology Strike Force with the Justice

Department in 2022 to file criminal cases against those who help

foreign adversaries acquire sensitive U.S. technology, work he

also expects to continue, even if not under the same initiative.

Axelrod, an official in the Justice department before

Commerce, will co-chair a new practice at Gibson Dunn on

sanctions and export enforcement.

As Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an answer tied

to his confirmation hearing: "I intend for strong enforcement of

export controls to be a hallmark of my tenure."