As the “Financial Times” reported on October 8, NIQ, an American consumer data provider, has been conducting business in occupied Ukraine “that raises questions about the effectiveness of international sanctions as Moscow presses overseas companies to expand” into occupied territories of Ukraine.
NIQ (also known as NielsenIQ, formerly known as ACNielsen or AC Nielsen) is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in Chicago, and is backed by buyout group “Advent International”.
NIQ’s Russia business in June used its social media channel to tout coverage of beer sales in Russia-occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. A month earlier, it compiled a ranking of brands from Russia-occupied Crimea, noting “sales of fast-moving consumer goods.”
“Financial Times” reminded that the US government issued an executive order in 2022 that extended sanctions prohibiting US citizens from doing business or investing in Russia to the occupied territories in Ukraine and that NIQ told the “Financial Times” it had allegedly “financially deconsolidated and localized its Russian business,” which “operates independently of NIQ, and NIQ does not include this business in its financial results. Actions taken by the Russian entity are not actions of NIQ”.
But journalists also stress that the US Treasury has been alerted to NIQ’s operations in the territories and has been asked to look into the matter. In March 2022, NielsenIQ announced that “it is suspending all consulting services business, will not seek new business for these services, and will halt all investments in Russia,” but in fact, Moscow LLC “Nielsen Data Factory” or “Nilsen Deita Fektori” (ООО «Нильсен Дэйта Фэктори») still works there, registered in Russia by LLC “AC Nielsen” (ООО “Эй Си Нильсен”) as founder. LLC “AC Nielsen” is founded by “ACNielsen Cyprus Limited,” number 65933, and “ACNielsen (Nederland) B.V.”, registration number 001672587, from Dutch Amstelveen.
The “Financial Times” stresses that three years into the full-scale invasion against Ukraine, the Russian government has become more vocal about pushing foreign companies to expand into Russia-occupied territories.
