At least 375 international corporations have suspended operations in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
But there is a prominent American holdout: Koch Industries, which is owned and operated by American billionaire Charles Koch.
Koch Industries has three Russian subsidiaries and they remain in operation there, Newsweek reports. The businesses are Molex, Guardian Industries, and Koch Engineering Solutions.
Is Koch Buying Think Tank’s Opinions?
In addition, Koch’s donations to the Atlantic Council, a prominent Washington, D.C. think tank, came into the spotlight after two senior experts there argued the U.S. should not focus on human rights in its dealings with Russia.
Almost two dozen employees and fellows at the Atlantic Council issued a statement slamming colleagues Emma Ashford and Mathew Burrows for writing what they viewed as a pro-Russia article on the think tank’s website, Politico reported.
Three former U.S. ambassadors —John E. Herbst, Alexander “Sandy” Vershbow, and Daniel Frieds — were among those who signed the statement.
“We the undersigned disagree with its arguments and values and we disassociate ourselves from the report,” the statement read in part.
Koch gave $4.5 million over five years to the Atlantic Council. The think tank’s CEO said in an interview with Politico that the Atlantic Council is intellectually independent of its donors.
Poll: Americans Strongly Support Cutting Russian Business Ties
A recent Morning Consult poll indicated that 75% of Americans support companies cutting business ties to Russia.
Read more from Newsweek at this link.
