Slash and sell

The report alleges that Brookfield Asset Management oversaw the deforestation of approximately 9,000 hectares of the Brazilian Cerrado between 2012 and 2021 across eight farms, subsequently selling these assets in a 'slash and sell' strategy. It further details a case where a Brookfield-controlled firm was fined R$800,000 for slave labour offences at Fazenda Colorado and an attempt to evict the Kayabí Indigenous community from ancestral lands in the Amazon via the company Agropecuaria Vale do Ximari. The document highlights a contradiction between these actions and the public roles of Brookfield Chair Mark Carney, a co-founder of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), and the firm's ESG policies. It argues that voluntary initiatives like GFANZ are insufficient and calls for mandatory government legislation on environmental and human rights due diligence for the financial sector.

• Brookfield Asset Management is linked to the deforestation of approximately 9,000 hectares of tropical savannah in the Brazilian Cerrado between 2012 and 2021 across eight farms: Horizontina Norte, Horizontina Leste, Nebraska, San Diego, Nazare, Alvorada, Colorado, and Onça Branca.
• The report identifies a 'slash and sell' pattern where Brookfield cleared forest land for crops and then sold the properties in 2021, potentially profiting from commodity sales, financial instruments, and asset price fluctuations.
• Deforestation on Brookfield's farms is estimated to have released 600,000 tonnes of CO2 over a nine-year period ending in June 2021.
• A firm controlled by Brookfield, Brookfield Brasil Participacoes (BBP), was fined R$800,000 ($163,000) in December 2021 for slave labour offences occurring at Fazenda Colorado in 2014.
• Brookfield Brazil owned Agropecuaria Vale do Ximari, which sought to evict the Kayabí Indigenous community from ancestral lands in the Amazon to facilitate cattle farming, mining, and timber logging.
• The report alleges that Brookfield may have breached the rules of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), which prohibits clearing natural land for soy in Brazil after 2016, as 1,900 hectares were cleared on eight Brookfield farms between 2016 and June 2021.
• Major financial institutions, including HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America, provided significant funding to Brookfield through loans, bond underwriting, and shareholdings, despite their own commitments to stop financing deforestation.
• The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) removed the mandatory requirement for members to adhere to UN Race to Zero targets in October 2022, shortly before the introduction of independent monitoring controls.
• Brookfield utilized complex ownership structures, including investment funds and Certificates of Agribusiness Receivables (CRAs), to manage land holdings and potentially circumvent Brazilian laws restricting foreign land ownership.

APA

Global Witness (n.d.). Slash and sell. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/slash-and-sell/

Chicago

Global Witness. Slash and sell. n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/slash-and-sell/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Slash and sell |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/slash-and-sell/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitnessndslash, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Slash and sell}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/slash-and-sell/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }