Shareholder Spotlight: Amundi - The Hypocritical Giant Fuelling Polluters and Profiting from Filth

In the grubby underbelly of global finance, where asset managers hoard trillions like junkies guarding their stash, Amundi lurks as one of the biggest offenders. This French colossus, Europe’s largest asset manager with over two trillion euros under its thumb, struts around touting its ethical credentials and sustainable swagger. But let’s cut the bullshit – Amundi is a master of smoke and mirrors, a firm that’s been caught with its hand in the cookie jar time and again, from market rigging to greenwashing its way through fossil fuel fiascos. And here’s the kicker: they’re significant shareholders in Cummins Inc., that notorious engine peddler whose history of emissions cheating and environmental dodging we’ve relentlessly exposed here at TCAP. It’s no surprise – Amundi’s litany of scandals fits right into Cummins’ polluted ecosystem, a world of deceit, fines, and corporate sleaze that’s cost billions and poisoned the planet. We’re pissed off, and you should be too. This isn’t just bad business; it’s a fucking betrayal of trust, allegedly wrapped in pretty ESG packaging.

The Cummins Connection: Shareholders in the Smog Machine

First things first – yes, Amundi is a Cummins shareholder, and not just a casual one. As of the second quarter of 2025, Amundi has beefed up its stake in Cummins Inc. (ticker: CMI) by a whopping 48.6%, holding a position worth $343.70 million. That’s no small change; it’s a serious investment in a company that’s become synonymous with environmental fraud. Cummins, for those new to our rants, settled a record $1.675 billion fine in 2023 for installing illegal defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of engines, allowing them to spew excess pollutants while passing tests. We’ve documented this shitshow extensively at TCAP, from the data leaks and court battles to the supplier networks propping up their dirty empire.

But Amundi’s ties go deeper. They’ve also snapped up shares in Cummins India, a key subsidiary, with bulk deals dating back years. In 2020, Amundi Funds Equity India bought nearly 1.8 million shares of Cummins India, embedding themselves further in the Cummins web. Is there a formal partnership? Not in the flashy press-release sense, but this shareholder relationship is a quiet alliance of convenience. Amundi provides the capital muscle, while Cummins chugs along with its history of scandals – a perfect storm of financial enabling. Why the hell would a self-proclaimed sustainable investor pour hundreds of millions into a firm like Cummins, whose engines have allegedly contributed to air pollution killing thousands? It reeks of hypocrisy, and it makes our blood boil.

Market Manipulation: Washing Trades and Fleecing Clients

Amundi’s rap sheet starts with a classic financial fuck-up: market manipulation. Back in 2015, their employees were caught red-handed executing “wash trades” on the Euro Stoxx 50 futures market. These weren’t innocent slips – over 40 instances across 20 days, they pulled off simultaneous buy-and-sell orders with zero economic purpose, artificially inflating volumes and potentially screwing with prices. The French regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), didn’t mince words: breaches of fair dealing, best execution, conflict management, and internal controls. Add in cherry-picking – allocating profitable trades to favoured funds while dumping losers elsewhere – and front-running, where they allegedly misused client info for personal gain.

The fallout? A stinging €32 million fine slapped on Amundi in 2021, with additional penalties pushing the total over €37 million. Two subsidiaries got hammered with €25 million and €7 million fines, respectively, and three ex-employees faced personal hits, including 10-year bans from the industry. Amundi whined about it, contested parts, but ultimately coughed up the cash. They called it a “regrettable incident” from old practices, but come on – this is systemic rot. For a firm managing pensions and savings, it’s outrageous. Allegedly harming client funds to the tune of €48 million in losses? That’s not just incompetent; it’s thievery in a suit.

Greenwashing: The ESG Facade Crumbles

If Amundi’s market antics make you mad, their greenwashing will have you seeing red. They love slapping “sustainable” labels on funds while stuffing them with polluters. In 2022-2023, they downgraded nearly all their top-tier Article 9 funds – the supposed gold standard for sustainability under EU rules – to the lighter Article 8 category, affecting $48 billion in assets. Why? Fears of greenwashing probes, as their portfolios were riddled with fossil fuel giants like TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and coal expanders.

NGOs have torn them apart: Amundi’s “sustainable” passive funds hold billions in companies driving climate chaos, from oil extraction in Qatar to pipeline projects in Uganda. Despite marketing bluster about “climate urgency,” they’ve got €19 billion tied up in fossil fuels, contradicting every eco-promise. In 2025, they renamed €115 billion in SRI funds to dodge stricter ESMA guidelines, but critics call it “transition-washing” – cosmetic changes without real divestment. Outflows hit hard, with one flagship climate fund bleeding over $1 billion amid the backlash. What the fuck is sustainable about funding the very bastards torching the planet? It’s a scam, pure and simple, allegedly misleading investors who thought their money was going green.

Dodgy Investments: From Toxic Spills to Arms Dealers

Amundi’s portfolio reads like a rogue’s gallery of corporate villains. Take their stake in Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate mired in fraud allegations. Amundi threatened to dump bonds over Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in 2020, citing reef risks, but they stuck around. Then came the 2023 Hindenburg report, accusing Adani of “brazen” stock manipulation and a $150 billion market wipeout. By 2024-2025, US indictments hit Gautam Adani with bribery and securities fraud charges. Amundi’s exposure? Still there, enabling what activists call a web of environmental and financial abuse.

Then there’s Grupo México, Mexico’s mining titan where Amundi holds shares. In 2014, their Buenavista mine dumped 40,000 cubic metres of toxic sludge into the Sonora River, poisoning water for 22,000 people and causing lasting health horrors. A decade on, no full cleanup, with government rulings slamming the company for negligence and labour abuses. Amundi’s investment contradicts their human rights pledges – it’s blood money from environmental carnage.

Don’t forget Myanmar: In 2023, reports nailed Amundi for indirectly funding arms sales to the junta via investments in Indian firms supplying military gear. French media called it out – Crédit Agricole’s subsidiary enabling atrocities. And in 2024, as a top LVMH shareholder, Amundi pushed for reforms after Italian probes exposed sweatshop conditions at Dior subcontractors. Workers allegedly toiled in dire setups for luxury bags. Amundi demanded change, but why invest in the first place? These aren’t outliers; they’re Amundi’s business model – profiting from filth while preaching virtue.

Private Equity Ponzi and Fake Fund Warnings

Even Amundi’s own chief couldn’t sugarcoat the rot. In 2022, CEO Valérie Baudson blasted parts of private equity as a “pyramid” and “ponzi scheme,” where firms flip assets at inflated prices without real value. Ironic, coming from a firm accused of similar smoke-and-mirrors in ESG land. Then there are the scam alerts: Since 2024, fraudsters have impersonated Amundi with fake sites like robofund.net, luring victims into bogus investments. Germany’s BaFin issued warnings in November 2024, and Amundi’s had to post disclaimers. Not their direct fault, but it highlights the shady aura around the brand.

Why Amundi Fits Cummins Like a Glove

Amundi’s controversies aren’t random; they’re apt for a shareholder in Cummins, whose ecosystem we’ve dissected at TCAP as a cesspool of scandals. From the $1.675 billion emissions fine to shareholder lawsuits and state AG takedowns, Cummins embodies corporate deceit. Arizona’s Attorney General sued them in 2024 for defrauding buyers with rigged trucks; California nailed them for $372 million over polluted engines. We’ve covered the supplier chains, like BASF’s toxic inputs, and the confidential leaks revealing their dodgy dealings. Amundi, with its manipulation and greenwashing, is the perfect enabler – pumping cash into polluters while virtue-signalling. It’s infuriating: investors like Amundi prop up these giants, allegedly at the expense of the planet and people. Time to demand accountability, or this cycle of sleaze just keeps spinning.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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