The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added Barry Callebaut, the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, to the list of international sponsors of war. The company continues to operate 3 factories in Russia and pay taxes to its budget.
After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Swiss company Barry Callebaut delivered chocolate to the aggressor under the guise of essential goods. It also supplied its products to a Russian confectionery factory, whose chocolate is included in the Russian army's dry rations.
The company produces goods under the Sicao and Chocovic brands and imports products under the Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Carma, Mona Lisa, Bensdorp, Van Hauten, La Morella, and other brands. Every fourth chocolate and cocoa product in the world is made from this company's products.
Barry Callebaut has been operating in Russia for over 15 years and has 3 factories in the country. In Moscow, the Alcon business center even houses the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy, which is the second largest in the company.
In Russia, Barry Callebaut operates through Barry Callebaut NL Rasha LLC and Barry Callebaut Kaliningrad LLC. Together, they paid taxes to the aggressor's budget of more than USD 33 million. Barry Callebaut NL Rusha LLC is also the founder of Inforum-Prom CJSC and Gor Trade LLC. In 2022, they paid taxes to the Russian Federation for almost USD 500 thousand.
In November 2022, the French representative office of Barry Callebaut COCOA AG supplied its products (cocoa paste, oil) to the Russian confectionery factory LLC "Fidelity to Quality" for about USD 180 thousand. Its chocolate is included in the aggressor's army's dry rations.
Barry Callebaut continues to be an active participant in import and export operations with the terrorist state. In 2023, the company imported goods worth more than USD 94 million to the Russian market. This is more than 3 times higher than in 2022. The imported goods include confectionery, dry mixes, cocoa, cocoa butter, palm oil, and fat from Belgium, Switzerland, Estonia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, India, and Spain.
Shortly after the start of Russia's large-scale war against Ukraine, the company announced that it was supplying essential goods to Russia: "chocolate is part of the daily diet of many". This statement is manipulative, as according to the legislation of the aggressor country, neither chocolate nor cocoa-containing food products are considered essential foodstuffs.
At the same time, the company's CEO Peter Boone stated that "The military operation in Ukraine was launched by the Russian government, not the Russian people. This is a distinction that we have kept in mind when making these difficult decisions. Furthermore, we are a company that will support its customers. It does not seem right for us to withdraw from our customers and leave them without products from customers who did not ask for this military operation."
Barry Callebaut continues to actively support Russia's economy and, accordingly, sponsor the aggression against Ukraine. The company's management has made no attempt to condemn Russia's war against Ukraine.
The NACP is the body responsible for promoting the development of a compliance system in the private sector. During compliance procedures, counterparties 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 "levers 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.
