Today, Anti-Jindal & Anti-POSCO Movement filed a human rights complaint against Australian bank ANZ, and Japanese banks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Mizuho, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) with support from BankTrack. (1) The complaint alleges that by financing Indian steel major JSW Steel, the banks are linked to numerous human rights violations stemming from the company’s JSW Utkal steel and coal project. (2) 

Community members from the Anti-POSCO Anti-Jindal Movement are demanding that the banks publicly refuse to finance the project. They have also called on the banks to not provide further finance to JSW Steel until an independent investigation and remedy process has been concluded for all affected villagers. 

In the period between 2019-2024, the banks have participated in several loans to JSW Steel. (3)

During that same period, the company has taken land without consent from Indigenous residents, destroyed local livelihoods, and cooperated with the state to criminalise local opposition to the project, say the complainants. (4)

Peaceful demonstrators have faced excessive force by police, arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment in custody, and restriction on freedom of movement in their villages. Communities are also concerned that if built, the project would further strain the environment of a region that is already deemed as one of the most polluted areas in India.

All four banks have policies in place committing them to act in line with international human rights standards, including a direct commitment to the principle of ‘free, prior and informed consent’. (5) BankTrack has previously sent letters to the banks requesting to engage on the JSW Utkal Steel project, but received inadequate responses. (6)

Debendra Swain, President of the Anti-Jindal & Anti-POSCO Movement:  “When the banks give money to JSW Steel, that money is used to tear down our homes and crops, and punish those who oppose it. JSW could not steal our land without support from banks, and so they must be held accountable.”

Prasant Paikray, Spokesperson for the Anti-Jindal & Anti-POSCO Movement, said: “We want the banks to stay far away from Dhinka. JSW cannot receive the funds to develop the Utkal project, or our future is at stake.”

Bhoomika Choudhury, Independent human rights researcher and lawyer: “The bank's financing of JSW Steel makes them complicit in the widespread harm faced by Indigenous communities in Odisha. No bank should fund projects that steal land, destroy livelihoods, and criminalise peaceful dissent. Financial institutions must be held accountable for enabling these abuses—and they must listen when communities say no.”

Julia Hovenier, Banks and steel campaign lead at BankTrack: “When banks like ANZ, Mizuho, MUFG, and SMBC freely lend to companies that turn a blind eye to the oppression of their critics, all of our freedom of expression rights are under threat. The banks must live up to their human rights commitments, and end their relationships with JSW Steel.”

Notes to editor: 

1. The complaint to ANZ is through their in-house grievance mechanism process, it is believed to be the second complaint lodged through this channel. The complaint to Mizuho, MUFG, and SMBC was submitted through the Japan Center for Engagement and Remedy on Business and Human Rights (JaCER). 

2. JSW Steel is developing a large steel plant and coal-fired power plant in Odisha, India. The project was started by POSCO in 2005, but it exited in 2017 due to significant local opposition. Rather than handing back the land to communities, the state government gave the land to JSW Steel in 2017.

3. Further details of bank finance for JSW Steel can be found on BankTrack’s JSW Steel Dodgy Deal profile. 

   1. ANZ participated in one deal with JSW Steel, beginning in 2019, totalling USD50 million.

   2. Mizuho participated in seven deals with JSW steel between 2019-2023, totalling USD 230.2 million. 

   3. MUFG participated in four deals with JSW steel between 2021-2023, totalling USD 130 million.

   4. SMBC participated in three deals with JSW steel between 2022-2023, totalling USD 116.7 million.

4. Punished for Protest: Indian Human Rights Defenders Persecuted in Struggle Against Dhinkia's Steel Mill Project

5. ANZ Human Rights Statement 2022, Mizuho, Human Rights Policy 2023; MUFG, Human Rights Policy Statement, 2024; SMBC, Statement on Human Rights 2023

6. International CSOs call on banks to rule out finance for controversial Indian steel and coal project