{"id":1171,"date":"2025-06-25T17:56:38","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tcap.blog\/?p=1171"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:56:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:56:39","slug":"shareholder-spotlight-blackrocks-dark-secrets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tcap.blog\/2025\/06\/25\/shareholder-spotlight-blackrocks-dark-secrets\/","title":{"rendered":"Shareholder Spotlight : BlackRock\u2019s Dark Secrets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In the murky depths of global finance, where trillions flow like sewage through a broken pipe, BlackRock stands as a colossus. With over \u00a38.8 trillion under its grip, it doesn\u2019t just play the game – it owns the board. But strip away the glossy fa\u00e7ade, and you\u2019ll find a company mired in scandal, its hands dirtied by environmental ruin, human suffering, and betrayed trust. As a major shareholder in Cummins, holding an 8.63% stake worth \u00a32.33 billion, BlackRock\u2019s shadow looms large. Is it any wonder Cummins, with its history of emissions cheating and labour strife, feels so at home under this influence? Like attracts like, and these two are cut from the same tattered cloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s wade into the filth and expose BlackRock\u2019s darkest secrets, the kind that make your stomach churn and your faith in corporate morality collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Torch-Bearer for Climate Destruction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BlackRock is the world\u2019s top investor in fossil fuels, pumping billions into coal, oil, and gas while the planet chokes. Despite Larry Fink\u2019s 2020 promise to prioritise sustainability, the firm\u2019s portfolio is a love letter to climate chaos. Its stakes in agribusiness, tied to Amazon deforestation and Indigenous rights abuses, have sparked global outrage. It\u2019s a betrayal of future generations, trading their survival for profit. BlackRock\u2019s Big Problem, a coalition of activists, has been shouting this from the rooftops, but the firm just keeps stoking the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Deceiving Investors: The FCA\u2019s Warning Shot<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined BlackRock \u00a32 million for misrepresenting investments in a public fund. The firm labelled its stakes in Aviron Group, LLC, an entertainment outfit, as \u201cDiversified Financial Services\u201d – a deliberate sleight of hand. For a company of BlackRock\u2019s size, the fine was petty cash, but it exposed a culture where truth is optional. If your asset manager can\u2019t be trusted to tell you where your money\u2019s parked, what\u2019s left to believe in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ditching ESG for Political Brownie Points<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once a champion of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing, BlackRock has backtracked hard. Support for ESG shareholder proposals plummeted from 47% in 2021 to 4% in 2023-2024, caving to pressure from politicians slamming \u201cwoke capitalism\u201d. It\u2019s a gutless move, sacrificing principles for political clout. For those who hoped corporations could drive change, BlackRock\u2019s retreat is a slap in the face, proving they\u2019ll bend to whoever holds the whip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Greenwashing: Selling Lies as Sustainability<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In October 2024, ClientEarth accused BlackRock of greenwashing, marketing funds as \u201csustainable\u201d while funnelling over \u00a3800 million into fossil fuel giants like Shell and BP. Investors thought they were backing a greener future; instead, they were bankrolling climate destruction. BlackRock rebranded 17 funds to dodge regulators, but the stench of deception lingers. Trust, once shattered, doesn\u2019t glue back together easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Complicity in Human Rights Abuses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BlackRock\u2019s investment choices are a rogue\u2019s gallery of ethical horrors. Congress has probed its stakes in Chinese firms blacklisted for human rights violations, including those tied to Uyghur oppression, with \u00a3344 million across five funds. In the Amazon, its agribusiness investments – over \u00a34 billion in 20 companies – are linked to deforestation and Indigenous rights abuses. Despite warnings, BlackRock doubled down, increasing stakes by \u00a3415 million since 2019. It\u2019s a cold-hearted calculus, where human lives are just collateral damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Revolving Door: Cosying Up to Power<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

BlackRock\u2019s ties to government are a tangled web of influence. Over 100 individuals have shuffled between the firm and public office, including Brian Deese, Biden\u2019s National Economic Council Director, and Adewale Adeyemo, Deputy Treasury Secretary. This revolving door isn\u2019t just unethical – it\u2019s a pipeline to policy control, ensuring BlackRock\u2019s interests trump the public\u2019s. It\u2019s the kind of backroom deal that makes you question who\u2019s really in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spying on Its Own: A Privacy Betrayal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, a lawsuit accused BlackRock of illegally monitoring former employees\u2019 financial accounts, including those of a minor. It\u2019s not just shocking – it\u2019s a grotesque invasion of privacy. This paints a picture of a company that treats its people like pawns, watching their every move even after they\u2019ve left the board. The case is ongoing, but the allegations alone are a damning indictment of BlackRock\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Cummins Connection: A Match Made in Infamy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cummins, the engine giant, has its own laundry list of sins: emissions cheating, labour disputes, and a knack for dodging accountability. In 2023, it settled with the EPA for \u00a31.34 billion over illegal defeat devices in 960,000 vehicles, a scandal that misled regulators and consumers alike. Labour issues, like the 2025 Oshkosh strike and allegations of silencing dissent, further tarnish its name. But when you see BlackRock\u2019s fingerprints – an 8.63% stake pulling the strings – it all makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BlackRock\u2019s environmental hypocrisy mirrors Cummins\u2019 emissions fraud. Its human rights violations echo Cummins\u2019 labour woes. Even its privacy scandals find a parallel in Cummins\u2019 alleged gaslighting of whistleblowers. These aren\u2019t coincidences; they\u2019re the fruits of a shared ethos, where profit is king and ethics are an afterthought. It\u2019s little wonder Cummins shamelessly crosses ethical lines – with a shareholder like BlackRock, it\u2019s practically in the DNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the cesspool of high finance, BlackRock and Cummins are peas in a pod, thriving on greed while the world pays the price. BlackRock\u2019s scandals – from torching the planet to spying on its own – reveal a company that\u2019s not just complicit but complicit by design. And for Cummins, with BlackRock as a guiding light, the road to redemption looks like a dead end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n