Indonesia: Global Witness reveals ‘sustainable’ bank loans to palm oil companies allegedly linked to deforestation & Indigenous land grabs, incl. cos. comments
“Banks provide billions in "sustainable" loans to deforestation-linked palm oil firms”, 5 August 2026
Major international banks are handing out billions of dollars in sustainability-linked loan deals (SLLs) to palm oil companies despite links to deforestation, corruption and human rights violations in Indonesia …
Global Witness found that banks including Barclays, HSBC, Crédit Agricole, Rabobank and Bank of China provided billions of dollars’ worth of sustainability-linked loans to palm oil firms while facing allegations of deforestation in their supply chains.
The analysis found that one major palm oil producer in receipt of these loans – Wilmar International – could be linked to primary forest loss … between 2016 and 2024, despite introducing a "zero-deforestation" policy in 2015.
Local Indonesian NGOs say Wilmar also forced indigenous communities to hand over their land to the company. … the findings expose glaring problems with company-led sustainability reporting and underscore the need for stricter UK and EU regulation on deforestation and sustainable finance.
Flossie Boyd, Global Witness Senior Campaigner, said: … “The findings show why the EU and UK need to introduce clear mandatory financial rules that cut off investment to firms failing to tackle deforestation in their supply chains.”
Mbak Tika, Director of YUNI, an Indigenous peoples’ organisation and NGO based in West Sumatra, said: “Investors need to do due diligence, listen to the voices of the communities that are impacted and ensure that the financing doesn’t empower practices that are problematic – otherwise 'sustainable finance' risks becoming merely a form of legitimacy for land theft and environmental destruction.”
… between 2022 and 2025, several banks provided a combined half a billion dollars in sustainability-linked loans to Wilmar International and Musim Mas while the companies faced corruption allegations linked to palm oil exports …
… prolific [SLL] issuers Olam Group and Louis Dreyfus are continuing to buy from suppliers which appear to be linked to deforestation at the same time as receiving billions of dollars of SLL commitments from banks including Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered.
…. Global Witness found investors held $46 million in Wilmar shares through 35 funds using terms such as “ESG”, “responsible” or “sustainable” in their titles …