It has been 11 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, its democratic neighbor, in what the world has described as an unprovoked and illegal invasion. While Russia itself has denied that it’s waging war and has suspended all foreign media at home to keep its population in an informational blackout, businesses from around the globe have taken notice and have begun quitting their Russian operations.
One prominent business to quit is NagaCorp, the owner of the NagaWorld Casino Resort in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which will no longer be developing the Vladivostok Casino project in Russia until such a time that the country pulls out its invading forces from Ukraine.
NagaCorp Refuses to Do Business with Belligerent Russia
NagaCorp is just one of the many companies which have decided to sever any ties they have with Russia, following financial service companies such as PwC, MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, and dozens of others who have withdrawn from the market in the past ten days. As Russia’s economy braces for an almost inescapable collapse, though, the forces of President Vladimir Putin continue to shell civilians in Ukraine and claim not to do so.
It’s in this context that NagaCorp has refused to continue development on the ambitious Vladivostok Casino project which was once touted as one of the best investments in the casino industry. Now, though, NagaCorp is uncertain of what the future may hold for Russia as well as its own project and has invoked the force majeure clause of the contract, allowing it to suspend its involvement for the time being.
This is not to say that NagaCorp will not renew development on the ambitious casino resort project. However, this may take a long while in the context of Russia denying that it’s waging war in Ukraine and threatening “consequences” on other neighboring countries who act with “hostility” towards the Russian Federation, referring to the reams of sanctions imposed on its economy.
Plans for 2022 Opening Now Scuppered
The Naga Vladivostok was due to open in 2022 and it would have joined the two casinos that are already operating in the region, namely the Shambhala and Tigre de Cristal. All of these projects are a part of a special economic area designated for the development and operation of integrated resorts. The area itself is known as the Primorye Economic Zone.
None of this may now happen while Russian soldiers and hired guns are shelling civilians and destroying a sovereign country.