Rabobank invests hundreds of millions in letterbox companies that JBS uses to avoid taxes. This is evident from our latest investigation. We are once again calling on Rabobank to sever its ties with JBS.

JBS is a Brazilian meat processing company, and the largest slaughterhouse in the world. JBS kills 8 million lambs, 27 million cows, 53 million pigs and 5 billion chickens annually, for customers such as KFC and McDonald's. On this page you can read all about what JBS does exactly.

Letterbox companies in tax havens

Researh institute SOMO conducted research for us into JBS' tax avoidance. They found that JBS avoided an estimated $221 to $442 million in taxes in countries such as the United States, Canada and Mexico in the period 2019-2022. They did this, for example, through offshore constructions. Research agency Profundo then looked at the role of Rabobank and found that the bank transferred at least $732 million to JBS letterbox companies in Bermuda and Luxembourg during that period. JBS does not conduct any business activities in these tax havens and employs virtually no people. The SOMO report shows that the Luxembourg subsidiaries made a profit of around $2.8  billion in the period 2019-2022, while JBS paid only $0.5 million in taxes on it.

"With these kinds of shady constructions in well-known tax havens, all the alarm bells should be ringing, but Rabobank continues to invest hundreds of millions without a second thought. How far can JBS go before Rabobank reaches its limit? Now it's tax avoidance, then illegal deforestation, climate damage, corruption or child labour. And all this while billions of animals suffer every day in the dark mega-stables of JBS, where even minimal animal welfare standards are non-existent. We find it incomprehensible that Rabobank enables JBS to make even more profit at the expense of animals and we call on the bank once again to sever its ties with this controversial company."

Dennis Vink, campaign manager Animals in livestock farming

Golden Cow Pate

WAP have been pointing out Rabobank's investments in JBS for some time now. In our last campaign, we asked the bank to stop investing because it was not in line with their animal welfare policy, after which Rabobank published a much slimmed down animal welfare policy. Last month, together with Anita Witzier, we awarded Rabobank the Golden Cow Pate: a prize for companies 'that don't give a damn about animal welfare'.

IPO and Dutch holding company

Our investigation comes at a time when JBS received approval from the American SEC, the 'stock market watchdog', for an IPO in New York. That application provoked a storm of critical reactions from American politicians and environmental and animal welfare organizations. Now JBS has been given the green light by the SEC, just after the news that Pilgrim's Pride, part of JBS, was the largest donor to Trump's inauguration committee. That raises the suspicion of a shady deal. For that listing, JBS has set up a holding company in the Netherlands: JBS NV. JBS recently bought De Vegetarische Slager, following the example of the vegetarian company Vivera. 

Dennis Vink: "It is a disgrace to the Netherlands that the company that symbolizes everything that is wrong with our food system will soon have its paper headquarters here. JBS is doing everything it can to avoid paying its fair share of taxes, and Rabobank is helping by turning a blind eye."

This press relrease was originally posted on WAP's website here.