From All Africa

European banks and pension funds are funding palm oil giant Wilmar International, a company implicated in land grabbing in Uganda, according to new research released today.

British, Dutch, French and German banks give over one billion euros of financial assistance to Wilmar and European and American financial institutions own shares in the company worth 621 million euros.

Wilmar International is one of the largest oil palm plantation owners and refiners in the world and was ranked as the world’s worst company in terms of environmental performance by Newsweek magazine in 2011 and 2012.

New research from Friends of the Earth International links Wilmar’s subsidiaries on Kalangala Island, Uganda to land-grabs and violations of both national laws and environmental legislation.

Communities in Kalangala living and working on land acquired for palm oil plantations have been displaced, often with no compensation or alternative livelihood options. About 3,600 hectares of forest have been destroyed, negatively affecting the environment and livelihoods of local people.

Read more at allafrica.com