The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has added two tobacco market leaders Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International to the list of international sponsors of war because of their continued operations in Russia, the agency said.
“The NACP has added two tobacco market leaders Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International to the list of international sponsors of war,” the NACP said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to the financial statements of Philip Morris’ Russian subsidiary, the company’s revenue in the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine increased by 8% to RUB 140.3 billion, and net profit – to RUB 48.2 billion, which is 45% more than in 2021. “Having confidence in Russia’s economic potential, the company is implementing a large-scale long-term investment program,” the statement said.
“Japan Tobacco International (JTI) is the undisputed leader of the tobacco market in Russia (market share – 34.9%). The company itself has openly stated that the Russian market generated about USD 2 billion. USD in 2022 for the JT Group, or approximately 11% of its consolidated revenue for 2022,” the NACP cites data on the second company’s activities in Russia.
“JTI is the largest investor and leading taxpayer in the Russian tobacco industry. Over the past 20 years, JTI’s investments in the Russian economy have exceeded $4.6 billion. In 2020, the company’s tax payments accounted for 1.4% of the federal budget’s revenue,” the NACP said in a statement.
The NAPC emphasizes that despite the fact that “representatives of both companies have announced their plans to close their business in Russia, stop new investments and marketing activities in Russia, they still continue to manufacture and distribute products in Russia.”
