Two leading tobacco companies in the world, Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International, have been listed as sponsors of the war, according to the press service of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC).
The companies are said to continue doing business in Russia and support the economy of the aggressor country by paying significant taxes to its budget.
Philip Morris International, which produces Marlboro, Parliament, Bond, Chesterfield, L&M, Next, and HEETS, held a market share of 30.1% in Russia in 2019.
Currently, the total investment volume of Philip Morris International in Russia exceeds $2 billion.
- According to the financial statements of Philip Morris International's Russian division, the company's revenue in the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine increased by 8% to 140.3 billion rubles, and net profit reached 48.2 billion rubles, which is 45% more than in 2021. Accordingly, a tax on profit was paid to the aggressor's budget in the amount of over $136 million, the agency reported.
The NAPC stated that at the beginning of the full-scale war, Philip Morris announced its intention to sell its Russian business, but all 'attempts' allegedly did not succeed, and the corporation remains one of the largest taxpayers to the Russian budget.
The second company, Japan Tobacco International (JTI), is an undisputed leader in the tobacco market in Russia (with a market share of about 34.9%).
On the Russian market, it is represented, among other things, by the brands Winston, LD, Mevius, Camel, and Sobranie.
- Over the past 20 years, JTI's investments in the Russian economy have exceeded $4.6 billion. The company's tax payments in 2020 provided 1.4% of the Russian federal budget's revenue. The company itself openly stated that the Russian market generated approximately $2 billion in 2022 for the JT group, or about 11% of its consolidated income for 2022, the NAPC reported.
Although JTI representatives claimed that JT Group had suspended new investments and marketing activities in Russia, the company still continues to produce and distribute its products in Russia.
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