- Between 2018 and 2023, British bank Barclays earned $1.7 billion from financing JBS, a Brazilian meat giant entangled in the illegal invasion of Indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon
- JBS’ supply chain is directly and indirectly linked to severe land invasions and deforestation activities that have caused extensive harm to Indigenous communities and the natural environment in Apyterewa in Pará state, Brazil
- As the largest creditor to JBS’s global operations, Barclays has earned the most from loans and underwriting fees for JBS, surpassing more than 30 other financial institutions bankrolling the group
- The allegations arise as the Amazon faces its worst fire season in two decades amid severe drought, with most fires deliberately set to clear land for cattle ranching or crop cultivation.
Thursday 26 September, London - British banking giant Barclays earned $1.7 billion between 2018 and 2023 by financing JBS, a Brazilian meatpacker implicated in the destruction of Indigenous territories in Brazil, a new Global Witness investigation has found.
Between 2018 and 2023, nearly 8,000 cows that had been illegally ranched on Apyterewa Indigenous territory entered JBS’s supply chain, according to analysis by the Center for Climate Crime Analysis.
Published today, the investigation found that Barclays has been the single largest creditor to JBS’s global operations over the last five years, having generated $1.7 billion in earnings from 2018 to 2023.
The data commissioned by Global Witness from Dutch research group Profundo reveals JBS’s 10 highest-earning creditors during that period, with other major banks including the Royal Bank of Canada ($1.1 billion), Rabobank ($397 million) and Santander ($150 million) also earning handsomely. US-based financial institutions also reaped a combined $660 million from global investments in JBS. Asset managers Vanguard, BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and Capital Group claimed the lion's share, with Vanguard and BlackRock each securing $46 million from JBS’s Brazilian operations.
Violence resulting from land invasions is not uncommon. Members of the Parakanã people interviewed by Global Witness allege that land conflicts with encroaching farmers have resulted in the burning of one of their villages, an attempted shooting of an Indigenous community member, and the destruction of vital biodiverse ecosystems essential for their food, livelihoods and traditional practices.
Koxawewoxa Parakanã, Vice-president of Tato’a Indigenous Association and a Parakanã leader told Global Witness:
“White people are selling meat to the whole world, but it is our land that they are destroying. We want them to give back that money that they’ve made.”
Although Barclays’ direct financing of JBS’s Brazilian operations specifically made up only a small portion of its total support for the company, the bank has long been the group's biggest international financier, continuing its relationship even when other banks distanced themselves from the controversial meatpacker in the past.
Despite its extensive record of environmental destruction and corruption, JBS is preparing to expand its access to capital by listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Alexandria Reid, Global Witness’ Forests Campaign Strategy Lead said:
“These findings lay bare how a seemingly routine deal made in New York or London can be linked to the preventable invasion of Indigenous lands elsewhere, unleashing devastating consequences for people and planet. It’s time for governments to introduce new laws that cut off the finance sustaining destructive companies, who cannot be trusted to police themselves.
"Governments must take urgent action to hold financial institutions accountable for these violations. There is no path to addressing our interconnected planetary crises without upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Global Witness is currently campaigning for new regulations in the UK, EU and US to stop the financing of companies with inadequate deforestation prevention systems.
The investigation once again presents compelling evidence of the need for robust legislation within the beef industry and global financial sector, highlighting major failures by both to voluntarily prevent environmental destruction and uphold Indigenous rights.
All companies mentioned in this investigation were approached for comment and their responses are detailed in the full report.