Major UAE company declared international war sponsor by Ukraine
Ukraine’s anti-graft agency, NAZK, has included Dubai-based DP World to its list of international war sponsors, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
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DP World, one of the largest global port operators, acquired a container terminal in the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi in 2020. In 2021, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally invited the company's CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, to take a concession of one of the Ukrainian ports and build a yacht harbour in Odesa.
NAZK said that the listing was related to DP World’s decision to strengthen cooperation with Russia despite the latter's armed aggression against Ukraine.
In June, the Dubai-based company signed an agreement with the Russian state corporation Rosatom to develop the Northern Sea route. Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin said this ‘strategic project’ will bring more than USD 200 billion to the Russian budget.
"Those additional funds will be used by Russia, in particular, to finance the war against Ukraine," NAZK said in a statement.
The list of international sponsors of war is a reputational tool. The designated companies are also included in the World-Check database, which keeps track of high-risk individuals and organisations and is used globally to identify and manage financial, regulatory and reputational risks.
Previously, such well-known companies as Metro, Procter & Gamble, Auchan Holding, Bonduelle and, more recently, Unilever were also listed.