People in Kyiv are indignant: Large Western companies enter Crimea
Western companies, despite sanctions and bans, find loopholes and continue to operate in Russian Crimea.
The magazine “Ukrainian Week” writes about this, recalling that Crimean sanctions have been in force since 2014.
“During this time, some companies managed to leave and return to the Crimean market, finding legal loopholes for this, for example, the French and German retailers Auchan and Metro Cash & Carry or the VISA and MasterCard banking systems. Some, such as the German concern Siemens, claim that their goods reached the occupied peninsula through deception, although this does not seem to be entirely true. One way or another, Western, in particular European, legislation is working in this direction, and some companies are now facing lawsuits because of their work in Crimea,” the publication points out.
In addition, the publication indicates that a number of Dutch companies took part in the construction of the Crimean Bridge.
The publication also pays attention to the sensational scandal regarding the supply of turbines from the German concern Siemens to Crimea, noting that at least three more German companies after the Siemens case found an opportunity to work with Crimea in circumvention of sanctions.
At the same time, German businessmen claim that they did not know where the cargo would be sent (we are talking about the supply of titanium ore to the peninsula) and that it would end up in Crimea.
“Regardless of whether it is ostentatious or real naivety of European officials and businessmen, it causes a lot of harm and at times neutralizes the whole point of the existing sanctions. In addition, it is a big trigger for others, because if, for example, one service or company in Crimea does not work, while others are actively offering their services, then sooner or later competitors will also want to resort to such deception or look for loopholes in sanctions. The worst thing is that, despite the investigations undertaken by prosecutors against some companies, the image losses for them due to work in Crimea are still very insignificant,” UT laments.
Kyiv is outraged: Major Western companies are entering Crimea.