Paraguay banks’ Green pledges undermined by loans to agribusiness linked to environmental crimes |
Paraguay’s banking sector has spent recent years presenting itself as a responsible partner in the fight against climate change and environmental destruction. Major lenders have publicly committed to sustainability principles, pledged to avoid financing illegal deforestation, and joined initiatives aimed at protecting one of South America’s most threatened ecosystems. Yet newly revealed loan documents tell a far more troubling story-one that exposes a stark gap between public rhetoric and private practice.
According to documents obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, two prominent Paraguayan banks, Sudameris and Banco Continental, extended tens of millions of dollars in loans to companies owned by Brazilian agribusinessman Ulisses Rodrigues Teixeira. This is despite Teixeira’s documented history of environmental violations in eastern Paraguay, including crimes linked to the destruction of thousands of hectares of protected forest.
In total, the two banks loaned approximately $36 million to Teixeira’s companies in recent years, even after he admitted guilt in a 2022 plea deal related to environmental crimes. The revelations raise serious questions about the credibility of sustainability pledges made by financial institutions in Paraguay and highlight the role banks can play in enabling environmentally destructive business models.
Ulisses Rodrigues Teixeira is a Brazilian national with extensive agribusiness interests in Paraguay, particularly in the country’s eastern region. In 2022, Teixeira entered into a plea agreement with Paraguayan authorities, admitting guilt in connection with environmental crimes tied to a massive........