This report is part of our former „Harmful Cases“ documentation, where we continuously and concisely recorded human rights violations, violations of international law or environmental destruction caused by companies.
A recent Oxfam Australia report (Banking on Shaky Ground, April 2014) reveals that Australia’s mayor banks- National Australian Bank (NAB), Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Westpac and ANZ are funding, directly and indirectly, companies which are responsible for human rights violations, land grabbing, illegal logging and child labor in Asia and the Pacific. The report accuses the banks to invest directly and indirectly in questionable companies in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Brazil.
Westpac’s Papua New Guinea operation records show the 19 year existing relationship between them and the Malaysian logging giant WTK Group, which is known for illegal logging.
ANZ Bank has been accused of financing sugar plantations such as Phnom Penh Sugar that use child labor, military-backed land grabs and forced evictions in Cambodia.
Furthermore, Oxfam’s report reveals that the National Australian Bank provided $200 million in loans to the Singaporean palm oil giant Wilmar which is under investigation for illegal land grabs. NAB has continued its funding even after 2012 when Wilmar was named the company with the worst environmental policies.
CBA invested $14 million in the company Bunge in Brazil, one of the largest commodity companies, which has also been accused of gaining sugarcane from stolen land of the indigenous population and other human rights violations.
Oxfam urges the banks now to comply with their promise of sustainable banking and to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to land grabs and a higher transparency about their investment projects.
Sources:
https://www.oxfam.org.au/media/2014/04/australian-banks-backing-companies-accused-of-land-grabs/