Amsterdam, Netherlands \u2013 Greenpeace International\u2019s lawyers have issued a legal letter to Dutch notary firm Loyens & Loeff, demanding it takes immediate action to assess whether it is appropriate and in accordance with its professional duties to continue to provide legal service to JBS, the world\u2019s largest meat producer, due to its long-standing links to corruption, deforestation, climate wrecking emissions and human rights abuses.[1] This warning comes as JBS seeks to relocate its corporate headquarters to the Netherlands as part of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).[2] Greenpeace International warns that by aiding JBS\u2019s restructuring, Loyens & Loeff risks complicity with a company mired in financial and environmental scandals, and enabling JBS to further expand its environmental-wrecking business model.<\/p>\n\n
Under Dutch law, financial service providers like international law and tax firm Loyens & Loeff, who are working with JBS, have stringent professional obligations including being expected to conduct strict due diligence to prevent their services from being used to facilitate money laundering, corruption, or other financial crimes. In certain circumstances, they are obliged to refuse to act. Notaries play a critical role in ensuring that corporate transactions do not enable companies with a record of fraud, environmental destruction, or human rights violations. Greenpeace International has warned that Loyens & Loeff\u2019s involvement in JBS\u2019s corporate restructuring could expose the firm to serious legal and reputational risks. Greenpeace International\u2019s lawyers have also submitted a copy of their legal warning to the Bureau Financieel Toezicht (BFT), urging regulators to review the firm\u2019s role in enabling JBS\u2019s expansion as well.[3]<\/p>\n\n
Daniela Montalto, campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cJBS has been at the center of some of the worst environmental and human rights scandals in the world, from deforestation in the Amazon to corporate corruption at the highest levels. By listing shares in New York and moving JBS\u2019 headquarters to the Netherlands, Joesley and Wesley Batista, the billionaire brothers behind the company, expect to further consolidate their power and increase their profits while wreaking havoc on the planet. Dutch authorities must send a clear signal that companies with a history of broken promises and a business plan for destruction that risks pushing the global climate over the edge, are not welcome. JBS must be stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n JBS\u2019 long history of links to environmental destruction and its financial misconduct is well documented, with recent data exposing the scale of its alleged illegal activities.[4] A recent investigation conservatively linked some of JBS\u2019 slaughterhouses in Brazil to nearly 470,000 hectares of deforestation in Brazil\u2019s Amazon and Cerrado biomes between 2009 and 2023\u2014an area seven times the size of London.[5] An earlier study conservatively linked the company\u2019s indirect supply chain in Brazil to 1.5 million hectares of deforestation between 2008 and 2020.[6] Financially, JBS faces up to US$6.4 billion in liabilities from criminal, civil and other cases.[7]<\/p>\n\n Additionally, a recent Greenpeace Nordic report<\/a> estimates that JBS\u2019 methane emissions rival those reported for major oil companies ExxonMobil and Shell combined, and would rank fifth among the world’s top methane emitters.[8] JBS has been also accused of misleading investors over emissions reduction targets.[9] JBS\u2019 strategy is committed to growth in the meat sector.[10] <\/p>\n\n Richard Brown, legal counsel at Greenpeace International, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cNotaries have clear professional responsibilities and need to ensure that their services are not used to enable corruption, financial crime, or environmental destruction. Given their involvement in JBS\u2019s restructuring and the track record of JBS and its controlling shareholders, we are challenging Loyens & Loeff to demonstrate that they have clearly fulfilled those professional duties. We are also alerting the Dutch regulators so that they can take appropriate steps if they determine that there have been regulatory breaches. Companies like JBS have no place on the public markets. We are calling for JBS\u2019 listing to be blocked and for the Netherlands to take a stand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Daniela Montalto, campaigner at Greenpeace UK<\/strong>, adds<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n \u201cGovernments and financial institutions must stop enabling destructive agribusiness giants like JBS. The unchecked expansion of industrial meat is the biggest driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss and anthropogenic source of methane emissions. Financial institutions and regulators have the power to stop this destruction by closing legal loopholes, tightening oversight, and refusing to support companies profiting from collapsing ecosystems and the global climate. The Netherlands must not be a safe haven for JBS and Big Ag\u2019s reckless expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n ENDS<\/p>\n\n Photos and Videos can be accessed from the Greenpeace Media Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n [1] Dutch notary firm Loyens & Loeff appears to have been instructed by JBS to assist with the conversion of JBS B.V. into JBS N.V. and other Dutch legal matters, before JBS\u2019 shares are listed on the NYSE. The listing is expected to take place in 2025, effectively moving JBS\u2019 corporate seat to the Netherlands with the ultimate parent company of the group becoming a Dutch incorporated company. Rubicon Impact and Litigation<\/a> is acting for Greenpeace International.<\/p>\n\n [2], [7] JBS B.V.\u2019s Amendment No. 5 to Form F-4 REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933<\/a> As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 29, 2025<\/p>\n\n [3] The Bureau Financieel Toezicht (BFT) is The Netherlands\u2019 Financial Supervision Office. It supervises professionals such as notaries and lawyers to ensure compliance with financial regulations, prevent fraud, and combat money laundering.<\/p>\n\n [4] Recent examples of complaints to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) challenging JBS\u2019 listing:<\/p>\n\n [5] RAPID RESPONSE [CATTLE] Monitoring deforestation in Brazilian supply chains – September 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n [6] Steinweg T, Rijk G & Piotrowski M (2020) \u2018JBS: Outsized deforestation in supply chain, COV-ID-19 pose fundamental business risks<\/a>\u2019, Chain Reaction Research. <\/p>\n\n [8], [10] Greenpeace Nordic, Turning Down the Heat, October 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n [9] JBS\u2019 net zero related Sustainability-Linked Bonds issued by the company in 2021 did not apply to the majority of JBS\u2019 GHG emissions (scope 3, indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur throughout a company’s entire value chain). JBS states that in 2022 its scope 3 emissions were 97% of its total GHG emissions<\/a>. JBS’ net zero by 2040 commitment also backtracked on its original 2009 commitment to end sourcing Amazon deforestation, legal or otherwise, across direct and indirect supply chain by 2011. JBS later announced it was bringing deforestation targets forward to 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n JBS is accused of misleading investors with suspicious green bonds<\/a>; Brazilian meatpacker JBS says net-zero emissions pledge was ‘never a promise’<\/a><\/p>\n\n Contacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Greenpeace Brazil Press Desk, imprensa.br@greenpeace.org<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n