In July 2020, BAKUMSU, a legal service for communities in North Sumatra, Indonesia, sent out letters to a few Chinese banks and companies as legal representatives of residents of Batak Toba communities in the Dairi Regency, who are concerned about the potential environmental and social impacts caused by a mining project operated by Dairi Prima Minerals (DPM). In late 2019, two communities in Dairi filed a formal complaint with the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) regarding their well-founded fear of environmental and social harms likely to ensue from the mine’s development.

The letters were sent to the Bank of China, China Development Bank, China Investment Corporation, Export-Import Bank of China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. and China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation to request the banks to confirm whether they are involved in financing the project, alert them to the complaint and ask for their assistance in addressing community concerns.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre reached out to these banks and companies to seek their responses, but none of them has responded.