The NACP included the owner of AliExpress in the list of international sponsors of the war
The National Agency on Corruption Prevention of (NACP) included the Chinese Alibaba Group Holding Limited in the list of international sponsors of the war because it continues to work in the Russian Federation. In particular, it provides its platforms for the sale of copper goods exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine.
In 2023, the company announced a restructuring plan that involves the division of Alibaba Group into 6 groups: Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Business Group (Taobao, Tmall, Taobao Deals, Taocaica\i, 1688.com), Local Services Group (Amap, Ele.me), Global Digital Business Group (Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol, Daraz, Alibaba.com), Cainiao Smart Logistics, Digital Media and Entertainment Group (Youku, Alibaba Pictures).
On the territory of Russia, the online commerce platform AliExpress, which is managed by the Russian subsidiary of the Alibaba Group LLC “Alibaba.KOM (RU)”, has become the most widespread. The owner of Alibaba.KOM (RU) LLC is Aliexpress Russia Holding Private Ltd, registered in Singapore. As of 2023, the company continues to conduct business in Russia, providing an international platform for sales of foreign goods. The profit of Alibaba.KOM (RU) LLC for 2022 amounted to 16.3 billion rubles (about $160 million).
In April 2023, the Reuters agency reported that the Chinese company Quzhou Nova purchased at least 3,220 tons of copper alloy for a total of $7.4 million from the Debaltseve metallurgical engineering plant (controlled by the Russians) between October 8, 2022 and March 24, 2023. According to customs, shipments of copper alloy from the plant were carried out through the port of Novorossiysk. From the copper exported from the occupied territories, the company produces goods that it sells on Alibaba platforms.
It is worth noting that Alibaba also resorts to censoring Ukrainian content on its platforms related to the Russian war. In March 2022, Alibaba blocked the profile of a Ukrainian streamer who had more than 268,000 followers on AliExpress for a post about war. At the same time, pro-Russian posts on the platform are not deleted.
All the given facts may indicate that the company supports Russian aggression not only financially, by paying taxes, but also ideologically.
We would like to remind you that the NACP is the body responsible for the compliance system in the private sector. During compliance procedures, counterparties are subject to integrity checks, including socially responsible business conduct in accordance with OECD standards. The list of “International War Sponsors” on the “War and Sanctions” portal is a powerful reputational tool for achieving the integrity of supply chains in the international dimension, the exit of international business from Russia, thus reducing the financial and technological ability of the terrorist country to kill Ukrainians. One of the “leverages” of the platform is cooperation with the World-Check database, which is used by banks and insurance companies for risk assessment. That is why for global companies, the consequences of being on the list become worse than continuing to do business with the aggressor country.
