Oh-so woke firm has made £500 MILLION selling ice cream in Russia since the Ukraine war began: Campaigners claim Unilever provides Vladimir Putin with enough funds for 17,000 soldiers as MPs brand firm ‘disgusting’ for continuing to trade in warring state
- British firm behind Dove soap and Cornetto has made over half a billion pounds
- Unilever has 3,500 employees in Russia, giving millions in taxes to Putin
- Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith branded Unilever a ‘disgrace’
The British firm behind Dove soap and Cornetto has made over half a billion pounds selling its products in Russia since it invaded Ukraine, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Unilever, which also makes Domestos bleach and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, has refused to shut up shop – making it one of the few Western firms remaining.
Its presence in Russia, where it has 3,500 employees and four major production facilities, means it contributes tens of millions of pounds in taxes to Vladimir Putin’s war chest.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith branded Unilever a ‘disgrace’ and led calls for its brands to be boycotted.
Campaigners said Unilever’s Russian operation had made over £500million and was providing Putin with enough funds to pay for 17,000 soldiers.
The fallout from Unilever making more than half a billion pounds selling its products in Russia since it invaded Ukraine is a major embarrassment for the company’s boss Alan Jope, pictured
Campaigners said Unilever’s Russian operation had made over £500million and was providing Putin with enough funds to pay for 17,000 soldiers
The row is a major embarrassment for Unilever and its boss Alan Jope – particularly as the company is notorious for burnishing its ‘woke’ credentials.
It has emerged that Unilever still sells its hugely popular Magnum and Cornetto ice cream brands in Russia
Earlier this month, the company was blasted as ‘truly bonkers’ for claiming one of its soap brands can ‘inspire women to rise above sexism’.
Its sales bonanza in Russia drew criticism from across the political spectrum in Britain.
Accusing the firm of hypocrisy, former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘The saccharine sentiments of Unilever’s corporate governance are not reflected in accepting Russian blood money. I prefer honest capitalism to self-serving sanctimony.’
And Labour MP Chris Bryant said: ‘It’s depressing Unilever still don’t get it. They’re making money off the back of Putin’s bloodstained war against Ukraine. Their excuses are pathetic.’ Criticism of Unilever comes after Paul Smith finally pulled out of Russia after the Mail exposed the fashion tycoon’s lucrative ties to the rogue state.
However, two other luxury British brands – Agent Provocateur and Rolls-Royce – are yet to cease trading in Russia.
In March, London-based Unilver’s chief executive Mr Jope promised to create an economic ringfence around the country, saying the company would not profit from its business there.
READ MORE: HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson… Experts reveal shock list of businesses and banks who continue to trade in Russia despite Ukraine invasion
He added that Unilever would only sell its ‘essential food and hygiene products’ in Russia – which are made locally.
But it has since emerged Unilever still sells its hugely popular Magnum and Cornetto ice cream brands in Russia.
Sir Iain, who recently returned from a trip to Ukraine feeding families who had been ‘shelled out of their homes’, said Unilever ‘should be ashamed’.
He added: ‘It is absolutely appalling Unilever thinks it is okay to sell its products there.
‘I would love to take the head of Unilever to the frontline and say, “What do you say to feeding Russia simply because you want to make a profit?”’ The Moral Rating Agency, a lobby group which monitors Western firms operating in Russia, estimated Unilever has made £556million of sales in the past year.
The group said its ‘total economic contribution’ in the country amounts to £1.2million a day.
Founder Mark Dixon said: ‘First, it supports the war economically but then condemns the war. Next, it says its ice cream is an essential food when it’s not essential at all.
‘If Unilever doesn’t boycott Russia, its products should be boycotted. An immoral brand doesn’t taste very good when you think about its association with the invasion of Ukraine.’
Unilever declined to comment.
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