In an interview with the Financial Times, Philip Morris International (PMI) Chief executive Jacek Olczak admitted that the tobacco group may never sell its Russian business.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Olczak revealed that PMI had been in discussions with “serious” potential buyers but “the talks have stalled because nobody knows how I can make it work”.
While Imperial Brands took a hit of USD 463 million to its annual profits by selling its Russian operations to a local partner, other tobacco groups have failed to leave the market which is a huge earner for Big Tobacco. According to the Financial Times, Japan Tobacco is not planning to leave the Russian market while British American Tobacco is trying to sell but has encountered similar obstacles as PMI.
PMI has said that before selling its Russian business on stringent Kremlin terms and incurring substantial financial losses it would rather hold on to it with Olczak saying he had a “duty to my shareholders to recover” value.
“I cannot just lose the patience and I leave it. It’s their money, it’s not my money, I’m managing this for them,” Olczak said in the interview with the Financial Times. “If I had a buyer who could execute the transactions, yes, we would do it — but it doesn’t exist . . . there is no hope . . . So, then I’d rather keep this whole thing.”
Responding to criticism that by not selling, PMI was essentially helping to fund the Kremlin’s war, Olczak said: “I’m not supporting anybody. I just get trapped in that situation and . . . what’s the way out?”