The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) has added the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, Barry Callebaut, to its list of international war sponsors. The company continues to maintain 3 factories in Russia and pay taxes to its budget. This was reported by the press service of NAPC.
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“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 report says.
The company produces goods under the Sicao and Chocovic brands, and also imports products under the brands Callebaut, Cacao Barry, Carma, Mona Lisa, Bensdorp, Van Hauten, La Morella. Every fourth chocolate and cocoa product in the world is made from the products of this company.
Work in Russia
Barry Callebaut has been working in Russia for more than 15 years and has 3 factories on its territory. In Moscow, in the Alcon business center, there is even the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy, the second largest in the company.
In Russia, Barry Callebaut operates through LLC Barry Callebaut N L Russia and LLC Barry Callebaut Kaliningrad. Together they paid more than $33 million in taxes to the aggressor’s budget in 2022. Also, Barry Callebaut N L Russia LLC is the founder of Inforum-Prom CJSC and Gore Trade LLC. In 2022, they paid almost $500 thousand in taxes in Russia.
In November 2022, the French representative office of Barry Callebaut COCOA AG supplied its products (cocoa paste, butter) to the Russian confectionery factory LLC. Loyalty to Quality” about $180 thousand. Her chocolate is included in the dry rations of the aggressor's army.
“Barry Callebaut continues to be an active participant in import and export transactions with a terrorist state. In 2023, the company imported goods worth over $94 million into the Russian market, which is more than 3 times higher than in 2022,” noted NAPC.
Among the imported goods are confectionery, dry mixes, cocoa, cocoa butter, palm oil, fat from Belgium, Switzerland, Estonia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, India, Spain.
Soon after the start of the large-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the company announced the supply of essential goods to Russia: “chocolate is part of the daily diet of many.”
“This statement is manipulative, since, in accordance with the legislation of the aggressor country, neither chocolate and cocoa-containing food products do not belong to essential food products,” NAPC emphasized.
At the same time, the company’s executive director, Peter Boon, stated that “The military operation in Ukraine has been launched by the Russian government, and not by the Russian people. This is the difference we kept in mind as we made these difficult decisions. Additionally, we are a company that will stand by its customers. It does not seem right to us to distance ourselves from our customers and leave them without products from consumers who did not ask for this military operation.”
“Barry Callebaut continues to actively support the Russian economy and, accordingly, sponsor aggression against Ukraine. There were no attempts to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine from the company’s management,” NAPC added.
