Ukraine adds Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut to war sponsors list
The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added the leading global chocolate manufacturer, Swiss company Barry Callebaut, to the list of international sponsors of the war.
According to the agency, Barry Callebaut continues to operate three of its factories in Russia and pays taxes to the budget of the aggressor country, Rubryka reports.
Following the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company supplied chocolate to Russia, disguising it as essential goods. Its products were delivered, among other places, to a confectionery factory whose chocolate is part of the rations of the Russian army.
Barry Callebaut produces goods under brands like Sicao and Chocovic and imports products under brands such as Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Carma, Mona Lisa, Bensdorp, Van Hauten, La Morella, and others. Every fourth of chocolate and cocoa products globally is made from its production.
Barry Callebaut has been operating in Russia for over 15 years, with three factories and the "Chocolate Academy" located in the aggressor country. The academy, in the Moscow business center Alcon, is the second-largest among similar facilities operated by the company.
Barry Callebaut conducts its activities in Russian through limited liability companies "Barry Callebaut NL Russia" and "Barry Callebaut Kaliningrad." In 2022, they together paid over $33 million in taxes to the Russian budget.
"Barry Callebaut NL Russia" is the founder of the joint-stock company "Infoforum-Prom" and the LLC "Gor Trade." In 2022, they paid nearly $500,000 in taxes to Russia.
In November 2022, the French representation of Barry Callebaut COCOA AG supplied its products (cocoa paste, oil) to the Russian confectionery factory "Vernost Kachestvu" for around $180,000. The chocolate from this factory is part of the army rations of the Russian Federation.
It has been established that Barry Callebaut continues to actively participate in import-export operations with Russia. In 2023 the company imported goods worth over $94 million to the Russian market, more than triple the previous year's figures.
Among the imported goods are confectionery products, dry mixes, cocoa, cocoa butter, palm oil, and fat from Belgium, Switzerland, Estonia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, India, and Spain.
Shortly after the full-scale war initiated by Russia, Barry Callebaut announced the supply of essential goods to the aggressor country, arguing that chocolate is "part of the daily diet for many."
According to NACP, such a statement is manipulative since, according to Russian legislation, neither chocolate nor cocoa-containing food products belong to essential foodstuffs.
Executive Director of the company, Peter Boone, claimed that the "military operation in Ukraine was initiated by the Russian government, not the Russian people."
"This is a distinction we keep in mind when making these tough decisions. Moreover, we are a company that supports its customers. We do not believe it is right to abandon our customers and leave them without consumer products that they did not ask for due to this military operation," he said.
According to NACP information, there have been no attempts to condemn the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine from the leadership of Barry Callebaut. The company continues to actively support the Russian economy, thus sponsoring aggression against Ukraine.
As Rubryka previously reported, NACP added the multinational fast-food restaurant franchise Subway to the list of international sponsors of the war.
NACP also included Metro Cash & Carry in the list due to the company's leadership decision to continue operations in Russia.
The two leading tobacco companies globally, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International were added by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) to the list of international sponsors of the war. It is known that they continue to do business in Russia and pay taxes there.
The Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Limited was added by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) to the list of international sponsors of the war.
