Ukraine includes AliExpress owner into international war sponsors list
Photo: Andrey Rudakov/ Bloomberg
The Chinese group of companies Alibaba Group Holding Limited was included by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) on the list of international war sponsors.
This is reported on the NAPC website.
As reported in the agency, Alibaba Group not only continues to work in the Russian Federation.
They note that Alibaba resorts to censoring Ukrainian content on its platforms.
So, in March 2022, Alibaba blocked the profile of a Ukrainian streamer with more than 268,000 followers on AliExpress for a post about war. At the same time, pro-Russian posts on the platform are not deleted.
In addition, the company provides its platforms for selling copper goods exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Thus, in the territory of Russia, the online commerce platform AliExpress, which is managed by the Russian subsidiary of the Alibaba Group LLC "Alibaba.KOM (RU)", has become widespread.
The owner of Alibaba.KOM (RU) LLC is Aliexpress Russia Holding Private Ltd., registered in Singapore. As of 2023, the company continues to conduct business in Russia, providing an international platform for sales of foreign goods.
The profit of Alibaba.KOM (RU) LLC for 2022 amounted to 16.3 billion rubles (about $160 million).
In addition, in April 2023, it became known that goods made from copper exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine were being sold on Alibaba platforms. The Reuters agency revealed this fact.
It turned out that Alibaba sells the goods of the Chinese company Quzhou Nova. From October 8, 2022, to March 24, 2023, the latter purchased at least 3,220 tons of copper alloy for a total of $7.4 million from the Debaltseve metallurgical machine-building plant, which the Russians currently control.
According to the customs, shipments of copper alloy from the plant were carried out through the port of Novorossiysk.
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The "International War Sponsors" list on the "War and Sanctions" portal is a powerful reputational tool for achieving the integrity of supply chains in the international dimension and exiting international business from Russia. This means a decrease in the terrorist country's financial and technological ability to kill Ukrainians.
One of the "leverages" of the platform is cooperation with the World-Check database, which banks and insurance companies use to assess risks.
That is why the consequences of being on the list for global companies become worse than continuing to do business with the aggressor country.
However, if from the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the percentage of companies winding down operations in Russia was actively growing until the spring of 2022, then during the last 11 months, the ratio of those who are leaving or staying has practically stayed the same.
To check the manufacturer of the product, you need to use your smartphone to open the scanner on the project website or go to the Telegram bot and then point the camera at the barcode. The scanner is available in Ukrainian and English.
