German building materials manufacturer Knauf is completely winding down its operations in Russia after more than 30 years of work on the Russian market.
It is noted that the company did not give specific reasons for its withdrawal from Russia, saying that it was due to “current events.”
The company said in a statement that it has decided to transfer the entire business, including raw material extraction, production and sales, to local management in order to save the jobs of more than 4,000 employees. However, the process of transferring the business has yet to be approved by the Russian government.
What is known about the Knauf scandal
The German TV channel ARD conducted an investigation that revealed that German companies are helping the Russian occupation regime with construction in occupied Mariupol.
The journalists received testimonies and evidence in the form of photos and videos that Knauf and WKB Systems are building facilities in the Azov city.
In particular, they had photos of a construction site with Knauf bags, whose official dealer publicly advertises that he has built a residential building project using its building materials on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Knauf is a leader in the production of gypsum and has long had a business in Russia. The company’s founder, Nikolaus Knauf, has been an honorary consul of the Russian Federation for more than two decades.
He retained this position even after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and in 2018 he still called further sanctions against Russia “terrible.” According to him, there are still 4,000 Knauf employees in Russia, and the company generates billions in revenue.
In addition, investigators found concrete blocks wrapped in green film with the inscription WKB Systems GmbH on them at numerous construction sites. The company, among other things, equips concrete block production plants.
The company’s main shareholder is Russian oligarch Viktor Budarin, who used his German company as a supplier to the construction industry in Russia. No sanctions have been imposed against him.
Customs data reviewed by journalists show that WKB Systems has been supplying complete plants for aerated concrete block factories to one of Budarin’s Russian companies for several years – apparently the same company whose products Russia is using in Mariupol.
