The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) of Ukraine has included the Chinese corporation Alibaba Group Holding Limited in the list of international sponsors of war due to its activities in the Russian Federation. The main accusation is that the company provides platforms for trading in goods that have been exported from the occupied territories of Ukraine, including copper.
This was reported through the agency's press service.
According to the NAPC, the most popular commercial online platform in Russia is AliExpress, which is managed through the Russian company of the Alibaba group of companies - Alibaba.com (RU) LLC, owned by Aliexpress Russia Holding Private Ltd, registered in Singapore. As of 2023, the company continues to operate in Russia, having earned a profit of $160 million in 2022.
In April 2023, Reuters reported that the Chinese company Quzhou Nova had purchased at least 3,220 tons of copper alloy worth $7.4 million from the Debaltseve Metallurgical Engineering Plant, which is now under Russian control. The company uses this copper to produce goods sold on Alibaba's platforms.
It is important to note that Alibaba also applies the practice of censoring content related to the Russian-Ukrainian war on its platforms, including blocking Ukrainian content. In March 2022, the company suspended the profile of a Ukrainian streamer on AliExpress, which had more than 268 thousand subscribers, after he posted a post about the events of the war. However, pro-Russian content on the platform remains unchanged and cannot be removed.
"The above facts may indicate that the company supports Russian aggression not only financially by paying taxes, but also ideologically," the NACP said.
Earlier this year, the NACP added the world's largest private alcohol company, Bacardi Limited, to the list of international sponsors of war because of its activities in Russia.
e-finance.com.ua