Avast suspends sales operations in Russia over Ukraine

Prague, March 11 (CTK) - Czech cybersecurity company Avast suspended all marketing and sales operations in Russia and Belarus over the invasion in Ukraine, it said on its website.

"With immediate effect, we have withdrawn the availability of all of our products from Russia and Belarus," Avast said, adding that its business generates USD2.5m in sales tax to the Russian government alone each year.

"We do not take this decision lightly; we've offered our products in Russia for nearly 20 years and users in this country are an important part of our global community," said the company.

"We are horrified at Russia's aggression against Ukraine, where the lives and livelihoods of innocent people are at severe risk, and where all freedoms have come under attack," Avast said.

"In Ukraine, we are maintaining and bolstering our product offerings. We are giving paying users an extension on their licenses for free. Users of our freemium products are now also able to get our premium products for free," the company said.

Avast donated over Kc18m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine through its employee donation matching programme and philanthropic arm, the Avast Foundation, it said.

Avast has "employees in both Ukraine and Russia and is actively working to protect and sustain them as a priority. We continue to pay their full salaries and have aided the temporary relocation, at their request, of some families who were in high risk areas. We've been in constant communication with the affected employees, and the challenges and very real dangers they face are an ongoing source of deep concern," Avast said.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, has killed at least 516 civilians, the United Nations said on Wednesday. The real number of victims is thought to be much higher.

Avast is the world's second largest cybersecurity company after Symantec by sales. Last year's operating profit reached some Kc11.6bn on revenues exceeding Kc21bn.

Avast, a Czech multinational company, has been operating on the market since 1988.

vr/er