9The Money That Follows

We measure everything—why not governance?

—Mohammed “Mo” Ibrahim, Sudanese-British technology mogul

ONE BY ONE, they pulled out of the Russian market, with billions of dollars in assets and revenue on the line. As they watched in horror like the rest of us Vladimir Putin's February 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine—seeing in real time the footage of a military force gone medieval on civilians—the CEOs and executive boards of many of the biggest corporations in the world divested with lightning speed.1 In fact, their reaction times were arguably faster, in some cases pulling the trigger before sanctions were announced by the US government and its NATO allies.

At the time of writing, more than 300 multinationals, from consumer goods companies to tech giants such as Meta, have announced plans to unwind their investments in Russia, however complicated the process of extricating themselves from relationships that span decades. Some of the most dramatic drawdowns were from oil companies:

  • Shell, which announced its intention to withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, gas and liquefied natural gas, in phases, though it would immediately stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil; it will also shut its service stations, aviation fuels, and lubricants operations in Russia
  • bp, which said it would exit its almost 20% stake in Rosneft, the Russian state-controlled oil company, as well as its joint ventures ...

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