After the invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the chain of hypermarkets “Ashan” continued to work in the Russian market, contributed to the mobilization to the ranks of the occupying army and supplied goods to the invaders.

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has included the French corporation Auchan in the list of international war sponsors because of its comprehensive support for the Russian war against Ukraine.

As NAZK emphasizes, “Ashan” continued to work on the Russian market after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine and refused to join the boycott of this terrorist state.

“According to an investigation by Le Monde and Bellingcat, Auchan is actively involved in the war against Ukraine, supplying goods to the Russian military in the occupied Ukrainian territories under the guise of humanitarian aid to civilians and helping with the mobilization in Russia. That is why Auchan under the guise of “Auchan Russia” is a direct a sponsor of the war against Ukraine,” the message reads.

The scandal surrounding Auchan’s work in Russia

As reported, the French Auchan Holding declared even at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine that it had no intention of leaving Russia, supposedly taking care of jobs.

Insider, Le Monde and Bellingcat recently published an investigation that revealed that the French supermarket chain Auchan in Russia is helping the occupiers with goods at the front under the guise of humanitarian aid and collecting data on its employees to mobilize them. In particular, after the announcement of mobilization, the network helped the Russian military commissars to comply with the norm: simply at the workplace, employees were served with summonses and offered to resign.

According to international law, humanitarian aid during international conflicts is only aid to the civilian population.

After the release of the material, the French Auchan Retail denied that during the war it supplied goods for Russian servicemen in the territories of the occupied regions of Ukraine. The network emphasized that their Russian stores do not provide any assistance to anyone other than civilians, and are not involved in any collection for the Russian military.

The Ukrainian office of the chain of hypermarkets “Ashan” stated that it has appealed to the central management of the company with a demand to provide an explanation regarding this incident.

In total, 15 companies from eight countries are now on the list of international sponsors of the NAKC war, including: the French chain of construction hypermarkets Leroy Merlin (“Leroy Merlin”); American multinational corporation Procter & Gamble; one of the top developers of OpenWay Group banking software; British packaging and paper company Mondi; the French manufacturer of frozen and canned vegetables Bonduelle and others.