12 Climate Justice Organisations Calling Upon Chief Financial Officer at London Stock Exchange

 

A letter signed by a coalition of 12 organisations to Chief Financial Officer of London Stock Exchange, David P Warren, demands the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must undertake an impartial enquiry into GCM’s unethical business. The letter asks that FCA must establish that the company holds a valid license for mining in Phulbari or LSE must de-list GCM from the London Stock Exchange by Friday, 23rd August. The coalition warns that failure to respond to the letter would mean that LSE faces essential action. The letter has been delivered to David P Warren by the City Sprint Courier Service and was later handed over again by the City of London police during the Black vigil at LSE on Friday. The letter with full list of signatories is as follows.

Dear Mr David P Warren,

We write to you in regard to an urgent investigation and overdue de-listing of a fraudulent company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The company is called the Global Coal Management Resources plc. (GCM), formerly known as “Asia Energy”. GCM is listed as a mining company on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investors Market (AIM). They are selling shares in London’s share market in the name of a project called “Phulbari coal project”, which does not exist. The company do not hold any valid asset to operate in Phulbari and do not have permission for mining anywhere in the world.

We would like to draw your attention to fraudulent activities of GCM, and would like to hand over some key documentation about the company’s fraudulent business, thereby asking you to undertake an urgent enquiry into GCM’s business and consider de-listing GCM from LSE.

Under the coalition of Phulbari Solidarity we are campaigning alongside groups in Bangladesh to raise awareness about the human rights abuse, ecocide, and fraudulent business of GCM, who want to build a massive open-cast coal mine in Phulbari, the only flood protected location in northwest Bangladesh. Due to severe level of human rights violation by GCM’s Bangladesh subsidiary, Asia Energy, in Phulbari the government in Bangladesh declined to renew the company’s licence in 2010. Yet the company, currently listed on AIM, continues to grab money by selling deceitful shares on Phulbari coal project’s name in London’s share market.

Bangladesh government reiterated that the Phulbari project is unlikely to go ahead and that GCM will never be given permission to return to Phulbari or northwest Bangladesh for coal extraction. The government has overturned their right to mine in Bangladesh about a decade ago.

Given the LSE’s remit in overseeing the conduct of the AIM-listed companies, we are asking that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) undertakes an impartial enquiry into GCM’s unethical business and establish that the company holds any valid license for mining in Phulbari or abroad with a view to review the company’s listing within the London Stock Exchange.

We ask you to kindly respond to our call for investigation by Friday the 23^rd of August.

GCM is one of a string of London listed mining companies linked to the murder and ‘massacre’ of protesters, including Lonmin, Glencore, Kazakhmys, ENRC, Essar, Vedanta, Anglo Gold Ashanti, African Barrick Gold and Monterrico Metals. We note the failure of the Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange to investigate or penalise any London listed mining company on these grounds is bringing the LSE into disrepute.

This 26^th August marks 13^th anniversary of the Phulbari killing when three young people were shot dead and more than two hundreds injured in a non-violent demonstration of 80,000 people who marched against plans by GCM in Phulbari. The day has nationally been called the Phulbari Day since. Powerful resistance in the aftermath of the shooting in Phulbari has put a decade long halt to the project. Following the killing of people in Asia Energy’s incited violence Bangladesh government has declined to renew the company’s contract to operate in Phulbari.  Despite no valid contract for mining, GCM is selling shares and cheating on the UK’s share market.

We have previously written about this to you and to Mr Xavier Rolet KBE, the former Chief Executive of London Stock Exchange. We also proposed for a meeting to discuss the matter in 2016. Nevertheless there was no response.

We would appreciate it if you can respond to our demand before Friday 23^rd August. If not, we ought to take further steps to hold London Stock Exchange to account.

In support of our concerns we are enclosing some key documentary evidence:

1. OECD complaint about GCM-led human rights abuse and corruption in Bangladesh submitted to and accepted by UK National Contact Point.
2. Report on the cancellation of contract with Bangladesh government.
3. Reports on GCM’s deceitful sales of their shares in the name of Phulbari Project.
4. Evidence of GCM’s continuous violence and harassment of opponents to the project.

 

If you need further information, please feel free to contact us (as per below contact details).

We look forward to hear from you in due course.

Yours Faithfully,

Dr Rumana Hashem, Co-ordinator, Phulbari Solidarity Group.

Alejandra Piazzolla, Spokesperson, Extinction Rebellion Youth.

Akhter Sobhan Khan, Member secretary, the Committee to Protect Natural Resources of Bangladesh, UK branch.

Alfredo Quarto, Director, Mangrove Action Project, US.

Angela Ditchfield, Director, Christian Climate Action.

Johan Frijns, Director, Bank Track.

Kofi Mawuli Klu, Joint Co-ordinator, Extinction Rebellion International Solidarity Network.

Knud Voecking, Director, Urgewald e.V., Germany.

Nick Bryer, Europe Campaign Manager, 350.org.

Nils Agger, Co-founder, Extinction Rebellion, UK.

Richard Roberts, Spokesperson, Reclaim the Power

Samarendra Das, Chair, Foil Vedanta.

#PhulbariDay #CoalMurder