After the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, representatives of Viciunai Group promised that the company would leave the Russian market; nevertheless, Vici continues to operate its facilities in Russia, looking for new employees and paying significant taxes to the aggressor's budget. This was the reason for the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) to add Viciunai Group to the list of international sponsors of war.
The company is a global manufacturer and supplier of various food products. In addition to being the largest surimi processor on the planet, the Viciunai Group is also one of the largest and most economically powerful seafood producers in Europe. The company is headquartered in Lithuania and has plants in Lithuania, Spain, Estonia, and Russia.
Back in March 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the head of the Lithuanian group, Sarunas Matijosaitis, said that the company would leave the Russian market within 3–4 months.
Instead, it was revealed that Viciunai does not stop its work in Russia and remains one of the most favorite brands of Russian consumers.
Viciunai is conducting its business in Russia as usual without any layoffs, successfully defending the Russian trademark in court, and continuing to recruit staff for its subsidiaries, supporting the labor market in Russia.
For example, the production complex of Viciunai Rus LLC is the largest enterprise of the Viciunai Group, employing 1,500 people. It is located in the Kaliningrad region, and its net profit in 2022 increased by 156% (up to USD 20 million).
Viciunai's subsidiary, BaltCo LLC, is the company's official representative in Russia and provides transportation services for fish cooking, fish processing, surimi, and seafood products. Its net profit in 2022 amounted to USD 2.5 million.
"As long as well-known brands such as Vici continue to be on the Russian market, despite all the aggressor's war crimes, the world is getting the wrong signal that Russia remains part of international economic processes. And the people of Russia see that the democratic world has not turned its back on them, and they are doing everything right. Many companies have already made the right choice in favor of the values of democracy and integrity by leaving the Russian market. However, Viciunai Group was not one of them and failed to go beyond its empty promises," said NACP Head Oleksandr Novikov.
Multiple statements about the termination of business and the sale of production in Russia have not affected the work of Viciunai Group in Russia. The company continues to sponsor the war against Ukraine by paying large amounts of taxes to the budget of Putin's war machine.
The NACP is the body responsible for promoting the development of a compliance system in the private sector. During compliance procedures, contractors are subject to integrity checks, including compliance with socially responsible business practices in accordance with OECD standards. The list of "International Sponsors of War" on the War and Sanctions portal is a powerful reputational tool for achieving integrity of supply chains in the international dimension, withdrawal of international business from Russia, and thus reducing the financial and technological capacity of the terrorist country to kill Ukrainians. One of the platform's "leverages of pressure" is cooperation with the World-Check database, which is used by banks and insurance companies to assess risks. That is why for global companies, the consequences of being on the list are worse than continuing to do business with the aggressor country.
