Auchan will continue to finance the war: the chain refused to leave Russia after its "brotherhood" Leroy Merlin

The Auchan retail chain will continue to operate in Russia and has no plans to change this decision. The company's position was not affected by the announcement of the withdrawal from the Russian market of the Leroy Merlin chain, which belongs to the same French owners.

Ashan told the Russian media about its position. "Auchan Retail Russia continues to operate on the Russian market and does not plan to change its strategy or organization of work", - the company said.

At the same time the press service stressed that Auchan in Russia "operates autonomously". This means that the Russian subsidiary of the company receives no investment from the French parent company.

Thus the supermarket chain will continue to pay taxes to the budget of the aggressor country. This means it will also finance the war against Ukraine.

Earlier The Insider, Le Monde and Bellingcat published the results of a joint investigation proving that the Auchan supermarket chain in Russia supported the war against Ukraine. In particular, it became known that Auchan helped the Russian military (under the guise of humanitarian aid for civilians), as well as "surrendered" its employees to the military committees for mobilization.

Auchan became a sponsor of the war, but it will not be closed down

In February 2023, the NAPC recognized Auchan as an international sponsor of war. However, this decision does not mean that the Auchan chain in Ukraine will be closed.

In general, the "War and Sanctions" list is designed to put pressure on the accomplices of war. In addition, the companies included in the list of international sponsors of war are listed in the World-Check database. This also does not threaten immediate closure, but this database is used worldwide to identify and manage financial, regulatory and reputational risks.

All companies continue to operate in Ukraine for the time being, because the NACC has no authority to close companies or limit their work. However, if the National Security and Defense Council imposes sanctions against these businesses, the situation could change.

The list of war sponsors also includes other companies from the French corporation, which is owned by the Mullier family. The "Association Familiale Mulliez" (AFM, Association Familiale Mulliez), for example, includes the same Leroy Merlin.

The Mullier business empire is virtually immune to outside influence and that is why it does not leave Russia. For example, Mullier's businesses are practically not represented in the US market, so it is not afraid of US sanctions.

In addition, the corporation is not worried about its stock exchange valuation of its companies, as they have never entered the stock exchange. So far all AFM shares are held within the Mueller family. Russian Federation is one of the main markets for "Ashan" and brings the company up to 10% of profits.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, due to work in Russia Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International faced pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB). On this background, as well as after receiving the status of an international sponsor of terrorism the bank started talking about a complete withdrawal from the market of the aggressor country.

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