Banks| Policies| Dodgy Deals| Campaigns
About us| Blog| Publications| Successes| Contact us| Donate
About BankTrack
Visit us
Organisation
Our team
Our board
Guiding principles
Team up with us
Our annual reports
Funding and finances
History
BankTrack in the media
Our privacy policy
Donate
2022-06-02 00:00:00
GFANZ must tighten the screw on fossil fuel expansion
2022-05-19 00:00:00
BNP Paribas and Société Générale: stop financing climate destruction and human rights abuses
2022-05-04 00:00:00
Barclays is big on beef and burning
2022-05-04 00:00:00
Standard Chartered’s 2022 AGM dominated by shareholder alarm over fossil financing
2022-05-20 15:14:47
Seven financiers abandon TotalEnergies' EACOP pipeline in a week
2021-12-16 13:33:02
Cambo oil field "paused" following pressure on Shell & banks
2021-12-16 13:04:42
Equator Principles improve transparency after BankTrack shows the way
2021-11-02 11:03:26
ANZ launches human rights grievance mechanism in a first for the global banking sector
Connect
2022-04-05 00:00:00
The BankTrack Human Rights Benchmark Asia
2022-03-30 00:00:00
Banking on Climate Chaos 2022
2022-03-08 00:00:00
BankTrack Annual Report 2021
2022-03-03 00:00:00
Locked out of a Just Transition: fossil fuel financing in Africa
2021-12-14 00:00:00
Actions speak louder: Assessing bank responses to human rights violations
2021-10-26 00:00:00
Equator Compliant Climate Destruction: How banks finance fossil fuels under the Equator Principles
See all publications
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Home › News
Pension funds and banks invest millions in companies that supply controversial communication systems to Syria
Start
Banks

By: Oxfam Novib
2012-07-17
The Hague, The netherlands

Contact:

Suzanne van den Eynden, press officer IKV Pax Christi: +31 6 23670577 vandeneynden@ikvpaxchristi.nl

The full report can be found (only in Dutch) here and www.ikvpaxchristi.nl

For more general information on research and work of the Fair Bank Guide, see: http://www.eerlijkebankwijzer.nl/english/introduction


Share this page:

Go to:
Start
Related Banks

Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE

Dutch bankgroups and pension funds invest in two companies that in that past year have supplied radio equipment to Syrian police, and a data-storage system for internet control to the Syrian authorities. This research is commissioned by Oxfam Novib and IKV Pax Christi and covers the Italian company Finmeccanica - that already in 2011, came into disrepute due to arms supplies to Libya - and the American company Netapp.

The research was conducted by Dutch economic research centre Profundo, and shows that fourteen Dutch financial institutions invest in one or both companies. Last year, similar research commissioned  by the Dutch Fair Bank Guide proved that Finmeccanica supplied the Libyan dictator Kadaffi with arms. Even then Dutch banks and pension funds were investing in this company. Spokesperson Peter Ras from Oxfam Novib: "It is disheartening to see that financial institutions continue to invest in companies that support dictators. Apparently, many financial institutions have not learned from the misery in Libya and their policies have not improved. This needs to happen now."

The Italian arms company Finmeccanica supplied mobile communication equipment to the Syrian police in May 2011. This was two months after the uprising broke out in Syria. In 2007, Finmeccanica supplied Syria with an advanced radar system. In May 2012 the U.S. government launched an investigation into the delivery of the data storage system of the U.S. electronics company Netapp to Syria in 2011. The system is part of a large web control system. With this system all internet movements of opponents of the regime can be followed. Miriam Struyk of IKV Pax Christi: "Even communication as provided by Finmeccanica and Netapp is unfortunately a very effective weapon to suppress civilians." In March 2011 a popular uprising against the Syrian dictatorship broke out and  led to the loss of at least 10.000 lives.

ING bank and Aegon bank have announced that they are willing to investigate where and how their current arms policy needs to be tightened in order to prevent such cases of arms trade. Moreover, additional research shows that there are more ICT companies supplying regimes such as that in Syria with equipment. This obviously calls for more structural change and tightening of current investors' arms policy.

Oxfam Novib and IKV Pax Christi call on all bank groups and pension funds that invest in these companies to withdraw their investments. They should also improve and structurally tighten their policies on arms trade with repressive regimes and supply of equipment that can strengthen repression. Finally, greater transparency about their investments and about time-bound 'engagement' with (weapon) companies is needed.

Go to:
Start
Related Banks

Related banks

ING Netherlands

active
Browse
Home
Banks
Policies
Dodgy Deals
Campaigns
About
About BankTrack
Donate
Contact BankTrack
Publications
Victories
Follow Us
News
BankTrack blog
Facebook
Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Twitter Fossil Banks No Thanks Instagram
Affiliate Websites
Fossil Banks No Thanks
StopEACOP
Forests & Finance
Banks & Biodiversity
Drop JBS
Bank of Coal
Don't Buy into Occupation
Vismarkt 15
6511 VJ Nijmegen
The Netherlands

Tel: +31 24 324 9220
Contact@banktrack.org
©2016 BankTrack                Webdesign by BankTrack and EASYmind
BankTrack is a registered charity in the Netherlands (ANBI) - RSIN 813874658
Find our privacy policy here

Stay up to date

Sign up now for all BankTrack's news


Make a comment

Your comment will be reviewed, before being posted