The German manufacturer of building materials Knauf is completely winding down its activities in the Russian Federation after more than 30 years of work on the Russian market.
Why is Knauf leaving the Russian Federation?
It is noted that the company did not give specific reasons for leaving Russia, saying it is happening against the background of "current events".
The company said in a statement that it had decided to transfer the entire business, including raw material extraction, production and sales, to local management in order to keep the jobs of more than 4,000 employees. However, the business transfer process still needs to be approved by the Russian government.
What is known about the scandal with Knauf
The German TV channel ARD conducted an investigation that revealed that German companies are helping the Russian occupation regime in construction in occupied Mariupol.
Journalists received testimony and evidence through photos and videos that the companies Knauf and WKB Systems are building facilities in Priazov city.
In particular, they had photos of a construction site with Knauf bags, the official dealer of which publicly advertises that he built a residential building project from his construction materials on behalf of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
Knauf is a leader in gypsum production and has long been doing business in Russia. The company's founder, Nikolaus Knauf, was the honorary consul of the Russian Federation for more than two decades.
He retained this position even after Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea, and in 2018 he still called further sanctions against the Russian Federation "terrible." According to him, 4,000 Knauf employees still work in Russia, and the company generates billions in profits.
In addition, investigators found concrete blocks wrapped in green film with the inscription WKB Systems GmbH on numerous construction sites. The company, among other things, equips factories to produce concrete blocks.
The company's main shareholder is the Russian oligarch Viktor Budarin, who used his German company as a supplier for the construction industry in Russia. No sanctions have been imposed against him.
Customs data reviewed by journalists show that WKB Systems has for several years supplied complete plants for factories to produce aerated concrete blocks to one of the Russian companies, Budarin—apparently, the same one whose products the Russian Federation uses in Mariupol.
