Burger King continues to remain open in Russia even after pledge to exit

Burger King is still operational in Russia after the owner of the brand pledged to exit the country more than a year ago.

Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which is the owner of 15 per cent of the franchise business of the fast food outlet in Russia, said to the BBC that it had "no new updates to share at this time" on its exit. In March 2022, the firm said that the process of exiting Russia had started.

Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, Western companies have been facing pressure to leave Russia. The RBI was accused by the critics of "sustaining Putin's regime" by not being able to ditch its stake in its Russian business.

One of the largest fast-food restaurant companies in the world, RBI has cited its complicated franchise agreement for the obstacles it is facing in attempting to exit Russia. The agreement is a joint venture along with three other partners for around 800 restaurants.

In March 2022, RBI's president David Shear said that the main operator of Burger King in Russia had "refused" to close the outlets after the first attacks on Ukraine.

However, he said that the company had "started the process" so that it could dispose of its 15 per cent ownership stake and that this would take "some time".

18 months spent with little to no progress on pledge

Speaking about the progress achieved in 18 months on the pledge, the Canadian-American company’s spokesperson said that the firm had no updates.

Steven Tian, a member of the team of researchers at Yale University, who has been tracking what the companies are doing in the wake of the Ukraine war, stated that using franchise agreements as an "excuse" was a "convenient smokescreen". He added that outlets, similar to Starbucks, had managed to terminate their agreement in the country and exit.

"Saying they [RBI] want to leave but then dragging their feet is not the same as actually exiting Russia, and by continuing to do business in Russia 18 months into Putin's invasion of Ukraine, they are sustaining Putin's regime," he stated while speaking to BBC.

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The RBI’s spokesperson said that the company was not accepting supply chain support and new investment, and did not make any profits from Burger King in Russia since early 2022.

Founder of the Moral Rating Agency Mark Dixon appealed to the RBI to make public the specific actions taken in its efforts to leave the country.

"[The firm] should be willing to break its agreement... It needs to accept the legal risk of doing the right thing,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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