BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
The world’s largest pension fund controlled by Norway has dumped Bolloré group over lingering human rights abuses at cocoa and palm oil plantation.
This was contained in a report from the Norwegian Bank Investment Management (NBIM) and made public on 26 February 2026.
Bolloré Group is a major French conglomerate (founded in 1822) controlled by the Bolloré family, with core businesses in transportation, logistics, communication, and energy storage/systems.
The report stated that after years of dialogue with Bolloré SE and Compagnie de l’Odet SE on the handling of human rights risks, sexual violence, harassment and labor rights abuses at the plantations of the Luxembourg-based company, Socfin, in which the Bolloré group holds a significant share, NBIM decided to exclude them from its investment portfolio.
Though the violations and abuses have long been denounced by affected communities, the Socfin group controls 370,000 hectares for the production of palm oil and rubber in ten countries of Africa and Asia.
SOCFIN (Société Financière des Caoutchoucs) is a Luxembourg-based holding company founded in 1909 that manages extensive oil palm and rubber plantations across Asia and Africa. It is majorly owned by Hubert Fabri and Vincent Bolloré. The group is known for its agricultural investments and processing operations.
In some countries, Socfin acquired their lands without consulting the community or seeking their consent, even as the communities felt their lands were forcefully collected from them.
The plantations which often surrounded villages, polluted their water sources, such that villagers cannot grow their own food crops. When villagers gather fallen palm nuts or speak out about their conditions, they are regularly harassed. The women and girls suffer from secular violence and are often raped by labourers working on the farmland.
In 2024, after years of complaints from communities and civil society, Socfin hired the Swiss-based Earthworm Foundation to investigate the issues. The investigation covered operations in countries like Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia.
The results were appalling as 59 percent of the grievances raised were linked to various issues. Of those founded complaints, 85 percent were judged to be the responsibility of the company, bringing to light systemic issues at Socfin plantations across several countries.
Norway’s move followed a similar decision by Switzerland’s largest pension fund, BVK. The Swiss spent three years discussing the issues with the Bolloré group, which said that they cannot be held responsible for unfolding events at the Socfin plantations, despite being a major shareholder and sitting on the board of directors of several Socfin holdings and plantation companies.
"It’s about time that investors take action against Socfin and Bolloré. For too long, the Bolloré group has claimed that it’s not responsible for the abuses we face around the Socfin plantations and as a result, the abuses have continued. This cannot go on," Félicité Ngo Bissou of the Association des Femmes Riveraines de Socapalm Edéa in Cameroon said.
Rizal Assalam of the Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity, in Indonesia added: "For us, Norway’s decision, like that of the Swiss, means that someone is listening to the communities and the workers, even if it’s not Bolloré."
For rights groups in Europe, Norway’s move puts EU decision-making to shame.
"The European Commission invited Socfin last week to be a key partner and speak at the EU-Liberia Business forum in Brussels. Yet Liberian communities are to this day denouncing Socfin’s lack of action on their long standing complaints," Indra Van Gisbergen of Fern said.
NBIM operates Norway’s pension fund, which currently has US$ 2.1 trillion in assets, making it the largest in the world. At the outset of 2025, it held US$ 91 million worth of shares in Bolloré SE. These were sold by the end of the year.
This report was endorsed by 31 NGO's from Nigeria Ghana, Cameroon, Belgium, France, Switzerland, among other countries.
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