Crédit Agricole: Video Investigation Into Its Investments in Polluting Oil Operations in Colombia

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The French bank invests its customers' savings in the Colombian oil industry, even though it is responsible for extensive pollution of the country's forests and waterways, according to an investigation by Disclose, with the support of the Pulitzer Center.

In this video investigation, produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center, Disclose reveals that savings placed in the Crédit Agricole group are invested in the extraction and production of oil in the heart of the Colombian Amazon. Its subsidiary Amundi, responsible for growing the investments of companies and individuals, holds 50 million euros* in shares and bonds in Ecopetrol, the Colombian hydrocarbon giant. To its great benefit: The bank earns 3.6 million euros each year, thanks to Ecopetrol, according to exclusive financial data obtained by Disclose.

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In the Villagarzón region, “significant concentrations of hydrocarbons” that are carcinogenic have been found around an old abandoned well in the jungle, according to a report commissioned by the oil company in 2018 and obtained by Disclose. When contacted, Ecopetrol denied any responsibility and claimed that the leaks were caused by sabotage: “There have been incidents of hydrocarbon seizure by unknown persons and illegal groups.”

These explanations do not seem to be enough for the Colombian environmental agency. In 2021, it initiated sanction proceedings against Ecopetrol due to “delays in the required actions” to clean up the area.

Toxic fumes

The French banking group reaps the dividends from Colombian oil production, but it also profits from its export. According to the analysis of unpublished financial and customs data, Amundi holds 1.8 billion euros in the American multinational Chevron, which refines Colombian oil in the United States, in particular in Mississippi. On the ground, the company’s refinery was flagged in 2019 by American authorities for illegal benzene emissions. These toxic fumes are responsible for chronic respiratory illnesses in most of the 120 families who live around the factory, according to American media outlet ProPublica. Chevron did not wish to answer our questions.

When asked about its investments in Chevron and Ecopetrol, thanks to which it earns 19.9 million euros per year, Crédit Agricole declined to explain. The leading French bank merely stated that it “no longer finances new fossil fuel projects” and focuses “its financing on renewable and low-carbon energy projects to accelerate their deployment.”

Crédit Agricole is not the only financial institution to profit from Colombian oil. Two other French banks support the same polluters: BNP Paribas and the Banque Populaire Caisse d'Epargne (BPCE) group. They share 735 million euros of shares and bonds in Ecopetrol and Chevron.

Contacted by Disclose, the BPCE group stands by its investments: “The share of gas and oil in our investments is minor, but we believe it is necessary in this period of transition."

For its part, BNP Paribas emphasizes that it no longer provides "dedicated financing for projects to develop new oil or gas fields." This does not prevent it from keeping companies that are among the planet's biggest polluters in its portfolio.

Investigation: Alexander Abdelilah
Production and editing: Loïc Kessler
Editing and voice: Ariane Lavrilleux

*All financial data cited were updated in August 2024. Customs data were analyzed using ImportGenius.