The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) has included the Chinese corporation Xiaomi Corporation in the list of international war sponsors. This was a consequence of the fact that Xiaomi not only continued its work in Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but still remains the leader in the sale of smartphones in the terrorist state and intends to expand its business there.
It is noted that during the war, Xiaomi continues to supply its products in Russia, and also supports the operation of the network of official authorized Mi Store retail stores throughout Russia. During the war and frequent shelling of Ukrainian cities by Russian terrorist forces, Xiaomi increased its supplies to Russia by 39% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the previous one. In 2022, Xiaomi doubled its market share and is now the leader in smartphone sales in Russia. In July 2022, Xiaomi and its sub-brand POCO together held 42% of the Russian smartphone market, taking first place in terms of sales.
In 2021, the Russian division of Xiaomi received revenue in the amount of $202 million. From this amount, taxes are paid to the budget of Russia, which then finances Russian-terrorist missile attacks, drone attacks, and the killing of civilians in Ukraine.
It should be noted that Xiaomi considers the Russian market important for itself and has not announced its plans to leave Russia, although it has not conducted advertising activities in Russia since the spring of 2022. However, the Chinese company is now resuming recruitment for its Russian offices and has announced the official start of sales of flagship smartphones, which indicates the company’s intentions to restore a full-fledged presence in Russia. Thus, Xiaomi Corporation is sponsoring the military aggression of a terrorist state and must bear both the reputational and legal consequences of its actions.
In total, NAZK has already included 21 companies in the list of international war sponsors. All listed companies are entered into the World-Check database, which tracks high-risk individuals and organizations and is used worldwide to identify and manage financial, regulatory and reputational risks. Thus, cooperation with such companies becomes risky and undesirable for anyone in the international market, which protects the international financial sector from Russian war sponsors.
It should be noted that the mechanism of “war sponsors” is one of the tools of the NACP, which are not direct, legally binding, but can exert pressure on foreign companies. Therefore, you should not wait for a direct ban on the sale of Xiaomi products in Ukraine. For example, Raiffeisen Bank and Auchan are included in the list of international war sponsors, but continue to work in Ukraine.
Source: NAZK
