Manufacturer of Domestos, Lipton, Axe and Dove: British corporation Unilever is on the list of international sponsors of war
National Agency for Prevention of Corruption adds British company Unilever to the list of international war sponsors
This was reported by the NACP.
The company is a global leader in the sale of household chemicals and products, with more than 400 brands produced at 280 facilities. Unilever supports Russia’s economy by paying significant taxes to the state budget, thus contributing to the continuation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Domestos, Axe, Rexona, Dove, Calve, Rama, Brooke Bond, Lipton, Crème Bonjour, CIF, Knorr, Sunsilk, Timotei, CLEAR, and Clean Line are still available in Russia.
“Unilever cannot oppose the war while simultaneously supporting Putin’s war machine. We have added this company to the list of international sponsors of war, because their hundreds of millions of tax contributions to the Russian budget help finance the war against Ukraine and may even indirectly finance a group of Russian mercenaries. Unilever has a new CEO, Hein Schumacher, so they need a new start because they need to be in line with human rights values. Unilever must leave Russia now, or history will remember its complicity in this war,” said NACP Chairman Oleksandr Novikov.
The British corporation has more than 3 thousand employees. employees in Russia. In 2022, 1.4% of the company’s turnover and 2% of its net profit came from Russian business. The company’s net profit increased by 24.9% compared to 2021 to €8.03 billion, and the intrusion increased to €60.1 billion (+14.5%). Unilever’s sales grew in all categories, with the largest increase in cosmetics sales (+20.8%).
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company promised to stop importing and exporting its products to and from Russia, and to cease all media and advertising spending. However, during the year of war, Unilever Russia’s profits doubled from 4.8 billion rubles (€56 million) in 2021 to more than 9.2 billion rubles (€108 million) in 2022. Thanks to this significant profit (+91%), Unilever Rus LLC increased its capital by +37% to 34.5 billion rubles in 2022 from 25.3 billion rubles in 2021, and accordingly paid about $50 million in taxes to the Russian budget for 2022.
“Unilever claimed that the company’s position on doing business in Russia has not changed, but its factories in Omsk, Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg and Tula continue to operate, and its offices continue to operate, ensuring the presence of brands at points of sale. Such actions of the company indicate its unwillingness to join the coalition of honest and responsible businesses that have chosen the side of democracy and freedom. By financing the Russian state budget with significant revenues, Unilever contributes to the Russian economy and, accordingly, supports the actions of the aggressor,” the statement said.
What the NACP knows about the sponsors of the war
As stated on the NACP website, the purpose of being included in the list of international sponsors of war is to reduce Russia’s resources for waging war through non-sanctioned instruments (without involving the resources of allied countries). The list is also used to draw attention in the global media space to the company declared an “international sponsor of war” and to the war in general.
To be removed from the register, a designated company must:
- withdraw from the Russian market or stop doing business with Russia;
- or provide a realistic, achievable exit plan in the short term, together with written and public guarantees to ensure its implementation by a specified date;
- or cease all business operations in Russia, leaving only a formal presence there due to the difficulties of exiting.
The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption has added 24,000 people to the list of sponsors and those involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
On June 16, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption for the first time removed the first company from the list of international sponsors of the war – Irish Peninsula Petroleum Limited.
As of June 16, the NACP has added 29 companies to the list of international sponsors of war. Among them, in particular, are Chinese Xiaomi and Great Wall, Hungarian OTP Bank, Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, Bonduelle, French Auchan, German Metro, and other companies.
On June 23, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption added Chinese car manufacturer Geely to the list of international sponsors of the war.
