NACP adds Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco to the list of international sponsors of the conflict

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has announced that it has added two major international tobacco companies, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International, to the list of international sponsors of the conflict. These companies continue to operate in the Russian Federation and support the country's economy through significant tax contributions to its budget.

This was reported by the NACP press service.

Philip Morris International is an American company that sells its products in more than 180 countries under well-known brands such as Marlboro, Parliament, Bond, Chesterfield, L&M, Next and HEETS - tobacco sticks for IQOS.

Philip Morris is represented in the Russian Federation by two companies: JSC Philip Morris Izhora in the Leningrad region and JSC Philip Morris Izhora Kuban in Krasnodar. In addition, Philip Morris Sales & Marketing LLC operates in Russia with branches in about one hundred cities across the country.

As of 2019, Philip Morris International's market share in Russia was 30.1%. This makes the company one of the largest taxpayers to the Russian budget, and these funds are used to finance various areas, including defense.

Currently, Philip Morris not only has no plans to leave the Russian market, but is also investing heavily in the production of tobacco sticks for IQOS in the Leningrad region. The amount of investment is more than 14 billion rubles, and Philip Morris' total investment in Russia exceeds $2 billion.

According to the financial reports of the Russian division of Philip Morris, in the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company's revenue increased by 8% and amounted to 140.3 billion rubles. Net profit also increased by 45% compared to 2021 and amounted to 48.2 billion rubles. As a result, the company paid more than $136 million in tax to the Russian budget.

The NAPC noted that at the beginning of the conflict, Philip Morris expressed its intention to sell its Russian business in order to preserve its reputation. However, all attempts to sell the business were unsuccessful, and the company remains one of the leading taxpayers to the Russian budget.

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) is the second largest tobacco player in Russia with a market share of approximately 34.9% and is one of the country's largest FMCG companies by sales. Its portfolio includes international brands such as Winston, LD, Mevius, Camel, Sobranie, as well as domestic brands such as Don Tobacco, Kiss, Play, Peter I, Troika and others.

JTI is a leading manufacturer of reduced-risk products, such as the Ploom tobacco heating device and the Logic Compact capsule-type electronic vaporizer. It is also the largest investor and one of the main taxpayers in the Russian tobacco industry. Over the past twenty years, JTI's investments in the Russian economy have totaled more than USD 4.6 billion. The company's tax contributions to the Russian budget in 2020 amounted to 1.4% of the federal budget revenue. The company also reported that the Russian market brought it approximately USD 2 billion in revenue in 2022, which is about 11% of its total revenue for that year.

Despite the statements by JTI representatives about the suspension of new investments and marketing activities in Russia, the company continues to manufacture and distribute its products in Russia.

Earlier, the NACP also included the British corporation Unilever in the list of international sponsors of the conflict. Unilever owns more than 400 brands and manufactures products at 280 facilities, including Domestos, Axe, Rexona, Dove, Calve, Rama, Brooke Bond, Lipton, Crème Bonjour, CIF, Knorr, Sunsilk, Timotei, CLEAR, Clean Line and others.