Shareholder Spotlight : BlackRock’s Dark Secrets

In the murky depths of global finance, where trillions flow like sewage through a broken pipe, BlackRock stands as a colossus. With over £8.8 trillion under its grip, it doesn’t just play the game – it owns the board. But strip away the glossy façade, and you’ll 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 £2.33 billion, BlackRock’s 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.

Let’s wade into the filth and expose BlackRock’s darkest secrets, the kind that make your stomach churn and your faith in corporate morality collapse.

Torch-Bearer for Climate Destruction

BlackRock is the world’s top investor in fossil fuels, pumping billions into coal, oil, and gas while the planet chokes. Despite Larry Fink’s 2020 promise to prioritise sustainability, the firm’s 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’s a betrayal of future generations, trading their survival for profit. BlackRock’s Big Problem, a coalition of activists, has been shouting this from the rooftops, but the firm just keeps stoking the fire.

Deceiving Investors: The FCA’s Warning Shot

In 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined BlackRock £2 million for misrepresenting investments in a public fund. The firm labelled its stakes in Aviron Group, LLC, an entertainment outfit, as “Diversified Financial Services” – a deliberate sleight of hand. For a company of BlackRock’s size, the fine was petty cash, but it exposed a culture where truth is optional. If your asset manager can’t be trusted to tell you where your money’s parked, what’s left to believe in?

Ditching ESG for Political Brownie Points

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 “woke capitalism”. It’s a gutless move, sacrificing principles for political clout. For those who hoped corporations could drive change, BlackRock’s retreat is a slap in the face, proving they’ll bend to whoever holds the whip.

Greenwashing: Selling Lies as Sustainability

In October 2024, ClientEarth accused BlackRock of greenwashing, marketing funds as “sustainable” while funnelling over £800 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’t glue back together easily.

Complicity in Human Rights Abuses

BlackRock’s investment choices are a rogue’s gallery of ethical horrors. Congress has probed its stakes in Chinese firms blacklisted for human rights violations, including those tied to Uyghur oppression, with £344 million across five funds. In the Amazon, its agribusiness investments – over £4 billion in 20 companies – are linked to deforestation and Indigenous rights abuses. Despite warnings, BlackRock doubled down, increasing stakes by £415 million since 2019. It’s a cold-hearted calculus, where human lives are just collateral damage.

The Revolving Door: Cosying Up to Power

BlackRock’s ties to government are a tangled web of influence. Over 100 individuals have shuffled between the firm and public office, including Brian Deese, Biden’s National Economic Council Director, and Adewale Adeyemo, Deputy Treasury Secretary. This revolving door isn’t just unethical – it’s a pipeline to policy control, ensuring BlackRock’s interests trump the public’s. It’s the kind of backroom deal that makes you question who’s really in charge.

Spying on Its Own: A Privacy Betrayal

In 2025, a lawsuit accused BlackRock of illegally monitoring former employees’ financial accounts, including those of a minor. It’s not just shocking – it’s 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’ve left the board. The case is ongoing, but the allegations alone are a damning indictment of BlackRock’s soul.

The Cummins Connection: A Match Made in Infamy

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 £1.34 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’s fingerprints – an 8.63% stake pulling the strings – it all makes sense.

BlackRock’s environmental hypocrisy mirrors Cummins’ emissions fraud. Its human rights violations echo Cummins’ labour woes. Even its privacy scandals find a parallel in Cummins’ alleged gaslighting of whistleblowers. These aren’t coincidences; they’re the fruits of a shared ethos, where profit is king and ethics are an afterthought. It’s little wonder Cummins shamelessly crosses ethical lines – with a shareholder like BlackRock, it’s practically in the DNA.

In the cesspool of high finance, BlackRock and Cummins are peas in a pod, thriving on greed while the world pays the price. BlackRock’s scandals – from torching the planet to spying on its own – reveal a company that’s 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.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project