Ukraine's anti-corruption agency adds manufacturer of Domestos, Rexona and Dove to list of international sponsors of war

Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added Unilever, which is widely represented in Ukraine by the popular brands Domestos, Axe, Rexona and Dove, to its list of international sponsors of war.

Source: NACP press service

Details: The company pays significant taxes to the Russian state budget, thus supporting the aggressor's economy and contributing to the continuation of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Unilever employs more than 3,000 people in Russia. In 2022, its Russian business accounted for 1.4% of Unilever's turnover and 2% of its net profit, which in 2022 increased by 24.9% compared to 2021 and amounted to €8.03 billion.

The company's revenues rose 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, Unilever promised to suspend all imports and exports of its products to and from Russia and to stop all media and advertising spending. Yet during the first year of the full-scale war, Unilever Rus's profits doubled from 4.8 billion roubles (€56 million) in 2021 to more than 9.2 billion roubles (€108 million) last year.

Additionally, thanks to the significant profit (+91%), Unilever Rus managed to increase its capital to 34.5 billion roubles [approximately €355.5 million] in 2022 from 25.3 billion roubles [approximately €260.7 million] in 2021, or +37%.

Unilever Rus paid about US$50 million in taxes to the Russian budget in 2022.

Unilever said that its position on doing business in Russia has not changed, but that its factories in Omsk, Yekaterinburg, St Petersburg and Tula continue to operate and its offices continue to ensure the presence of its brands in retail outlets.

Quote from Oleksandr Novikov, Head of the NACP: "Unilever cannot oppose the war while simultaneously supporting Putin's war machine. We have added the company to the list of international sponsors of war because their hundreds of millions in tax contributions to the Russian budget help finance the war against Ukraine and may even be indirectly funding a group of Russian mercenaries. Unilever must leave Russia now or history will remember its complicity in this war."

Background: 

• Unilever is one of the world's leading manufacturers of food and cleaning products. It owns more than 400 brands, including Domestos, Axe, Rexona, Dove, Calve, Rama, Brooke Bond, Lipton, Crème Bonjour, CIF, Knorr, Sunsilk, Timotei, CLEAR, Chysta Liniia and many others, and manufactures products at 280 facilities.
• The company is widely represented in the Ukrainian market.
• In March 2023, Unilever announced an investment of €20 million in a new factory in Ukraine.

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