AB InBev Remains in Russia, Pays €1bn in Taxes Despite Exit
AB InBev’s Russian joint venture grew revenue by 30% last year and paid over €1 billion in taxes in 2025, exposing the widening gap between corporate exit pledges and financial reality on the ground.
AB InBev has paid over €1 billion in taxes and related payments to the Russian state budget this year, despite announcing its departure from the country more than two years ago. The brewer’s Russian business also grew its revenue by 30% in 2024.
The Belgian company took a €1.1 billion impairment in April 2022 on its 50/50 joint venture with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes and told investors Russia was no longer part of its strategy. However, two attempts to offload its stake were blocked by the Russian government. A late-2024 decree by President Vladimir Putin subsequently transferred management of the business to a local entity, leaving AB InBev as a co-owner with the right to future dividends.
This ongoing financial exposure creates a glaring discrepancy for a company whose flagship Budweiser brand sponsors the FIFA World Cup. In June alone, the Russian joint venture donated more than $6.5 million to a state-aligned fund supporting Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
AB InBev’s continued presence raises questions for its major institutional shareholders, including BlackRock and Vanguard. It remains unclear whether these investors have pressured the company for greater transparency or a change in policy regarding its Russian tax contributions.
Other corporates maintain Russian ties
AB InBev is not alone in failing to execute a full withdrawal. PepsiCo, which pledged to suspend operations, opened a new factory in Russia in 2024 and paid $122 million in profit tax to the state. Nestlé continues to sell non-essential goods despite restricting its portfolio to essential items.
While more than 1,000 companies have curtailed operations since the invasion began, those remaining continue to funnel rubles into the Russian economy. The World Bank recorded a 2.1% contraction in the Russian economy in 2022, but holdouts like AB InBev and PepsiCo provide ongoing fiscal support to a state heavily geared toward sustaining the war effort.
