Auchan supplied Russian military under guise of "humanitarian aid"

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russian subsidiary of the French company Auchan has been supplying goods to the Russian military in the occupied Ukrainian territories under the guise of humanitarian aid to civilians and helping military recruitment offices to mobilise people.

Source: Joint investigation by The Insider, Le Monde and Bellingcat

Details: The supplies consisted of both goods from Auchan's warehouses and goods collected by volunteers at Auchan stores in different oblasts of the aggressor country.

The investigation mentions a letter that was sent to employees of stores in St Petersburg: "Colleagues, please put together a cession for humanitarian aid (based on the list in the attachment) and send it to the Severny (North) store tonight, give feedback once the pallets are ready."

The goods in the above-mentioned package do not look like "humanitarian aid": socks for men of shoe size 40; cigarettes (which are never supplied as humanitarian aid); lighters; razors; but nothing for women and children. The amount of goods (1,000 tubes of toothpaste and 500 lighters) indicates that there were many recipients, enough for one or two battalions.

This "humanitarian aid" is then formalised as a purchase by 10 legal entities. These companies are interconnected: they all serve the St Petersburg Passazhiravtotrans, which, in turn, is a part of the city's Committee on Transportation. Some of these legal entities, when asked by journalists, did not hide the fact that the goods were sent to the Russian military.

Auchan did not limit itself to its St Petersburg stores in supplying the occupation troops. This is evidenced by the fact that the deliveries were coordinated with the Moscow office and that the collection of aid in Auchan-owned shopping centres was also reported in other oblasts. For example, in Samara, Rybinsk and Vladimir collection points for "humanitarian aid for Donbass" were set up in Auchan stores.

Apparently, not only Auchan, but also Leroy Merlin, which belongs to the same business conglomerate, has been supplying goods to the occupied territories. In any case, a video from Mariupol, published in December, shows members of the United Russia Young Guard unloading identical pallets with the Leroy Merlin trademark.

Auchan also helped the Russian authorities combat draft dodgers: the company collected and passed on data about its employees to military enlistment offices and, after the mobilisation was announced, helped the enlistment offices fulfil the norm: employees were served draft notices right in the workplace and asked to resign.

Background: 

The Auchan supermarket chain is one of the 10 largest foreign companies in Russia. In Russia, the French chain Auchan operates 241 stores and employs about 30,000 people. The market of the aggressor country generates 11% of revenues for the parent company, Auchan Holding.

Earlier, Auchan CEO Yves Claude said that the chain would continue to operate in Russia because it "acts in the interests of the civilian population".

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