The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) included the food company Viciunai Group, which owns the TM VIСI, ESVA and Columbus trademarks, in the list of international sponsors of the criminal war against Ukraine unleashed by the Kremlin.
What is known about the inclusion of the manufacturer of crab sticks in the list of war sponsors
NACP representatives noted that despite the promise of representatives of the Viciunai Group to leave the Russian market after the beginning of the criminal invasion of the Russian army in Ukraine, they were never fulfilled.
NACP emphasized that the company will not only leave the Russian market but is doing everything to remain among the most popular food brands among Russians.
Viciunai conducts its business as usual without any cuts, defends the Russian trademark in court, and continues to recruit personnel for its subsidiaries.
What income does the company receive in Russia during the war in Ukraine?
In particular, about 1500 employees work at the company's largest production enterprise in the Russian Federation, LLC "Viciunai-rus" territory in the Kaliningrad region.
The company's net profit increased by 156% to $20 million in 2022 after the full-scale invasion of the occupying Russian army into Ukraine.
Repeated statements about the termination of business and the sale of production in the Russian Federation did not affect the work of the Viciunai Group in Russia. The company continues to sponsor the war against Ukraine, paying large sums of taxes to the budget of Putin's war machine, the NACP statement said.
The National Agency added that the company is a global producer of food products, particularly crab sticks.
In addition, the Viciunai Group is the largest surimi processor on the planet and one of the largest and most economically powerful seafood producers in Europe.
Its main office is in Lithuania, and factories operate in Lithuania, Spain, Estonia and Russia.
