Russian Auchan knows about supply of its goods to Russian military, tries to hide it by arranging deliveries by other companies

The joint investigation by The Insider and Le Monde says that in its response to the allegations, the French management of the Auchan chain denied any involvement in supplying goods to the Russian military. At the same time, it acknowledges and claims that the March 2022 order mentioned in the investigation was made by the St. Petersburg City Council and did not contain any goods that would suggest a specific recipient.

In turn, the investigative journalists claim that all of Auchan's statements are outright and deliberate lies that can be easily refuted by numerous documents, photographs and testimonies of employees who provided them on the record.

Thus, The Insider and Le Monde cite a document that shows that the order for March 2022 was issued to ten private companies that do not formally belong to the St. Petersburg authorities. It is also noted that these companies were selected by the Moscow management of Auchan, and when the order was received, an individual whose last name is Safronova signed for all the companies. In this way, according to the investigative journalists, the company tried to conceal the supply of goods to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The company's claim that it did not know the specific recipient is refuted by the fact that Auchan employees and managers themselves labeled boxes of razors and cigarettes as 'humanitarian aid' on the territory of the stores. At least two Auchan employees confirmed on the record to The Insider that they knew the aid was going to the Russian military. Officials from the mayor's office in St. Petersburg also made this statement.

In addition, the investigation notes that the evidence of the deliberate supply of goods to the Russian army is confirmed by photographs of volunteers collecting aid for the military in different cities. It is noteworthy that the photos show volunteers shaking hands with 'Auchan regional employees' dressed in Auchan branded clothing and with Auchan in the background.

“The extent of knowledge that the French management of Auchan had regarding the actions of its Russian branch remains uncertain. However, given that there are numerous French nationals among the Russian management team, including Laurent Proust, the Sales Director of Russian Auchan, who oversaw the organizer of the St. Petersburg deliveries, Evgeniya Storozheva, it would be strange if they were completely unaware,” the investigative journalists concluded.