Ukraine accuses popular rum of ‘sponsoring war’
Ukraine has designated spirits company Bacardi Limited as an “international war sponsor” over its continued operations in Russia. Data from Russia’s federal tax agency recently indicated that the company’s profits in the country more than tripled last year.
Ukraine’s National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) announced the decision in a statement on Thursday.
“The company continues to do business in the Russian Federation and is actively looking for new employees there,” the officials said.
The Ukrainian authorities claim that the world’s largest privately-held spirits company had gone back on its pledge to pull out of the Russian market, which it allegedly made, and later deleted, from a statement after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine last February.
Bacardi has continued to sell spirits in Russia, raking in tens of millions of dollars in profits. The company even strengthened its position in the country with the exit of several major competitors from Russia, the Ukrainian authorities claim.
“Thus, Bacardi Limited continues to pay significant taxes to the budget of Russia, support its economy and sponsors aggression against Ukraine,” Kiev’s anti-corruption agency said.
Earlier this week, Russia’s federal tax agency released data which showed that in 2022, Bacardi’s Russian branch, Bacardi Rus LLC, saw its profits rise to 4.7 billion rubles ($48.4 million) compared to 1.5 billion rubles the year prior.
Among Bacardi Limited’s signature and most famous brands are its eponymous rum, Bombay gin, Cazadores tequila, Grey Goose vodka, William Lawson’s, and Angel’s Envy, to name but a few.
