The BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) has notified FS Indústria de Biocombustíveis, one of Brazil’s leading corn-ethanol producers, after Repórter Brasil informed the bank that a partner and supplier of the company had been fined by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) for illegal planting on 5,300 hectares inside the Batelão Indigenous Land, located in Tabaporã, Mato Grosso, one of the country’s main grain-producing states.
Between 2023 and 2025, FS received at least R$ 600 million (USD 112,3 million) in BNDES financing to invest in its biofuel production. The largest loan—R$ 500 million (USD 94,3 million)—came from the National Climate Change Fund, known as the Climate Fund.
Miguel Vaz Ribeiro was fined R$ 2.9 million (USD 547,169) by Ibama in April this year for planting genetically modified corn and cotton on Fazenda São Jorge, which overlaps the Indigenous territory. Ribeiro is a partner at FS Indústria de Biocombustíveis and is listed as a supplier of corn to the company, according to supply contracts accessed by Repórter Brasil. The producer is also the mayor of Lucas do Rio Verde city, in Mato Grosso.
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Brazilian law prohibits the cultivation of genetically modified organisms on Indigenous lands and in conservation units. Ibama also classified the violation as biopiracy—the illegal exploitation of biological resources and traditional knowledge—and ordered the destruction of the crops.
FS received R$ 500 million from BNDES for corn-ethanol investments
In September 2024, BNDES announced a R$ 500 million loan for FS to build a new corn-ethanol plant in Querência, Mato Grosso, with a capacity of up to 400,000 tons. The funding was provided through the Climate Fund. Linked to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), the fund was created to support projects that reduce the effects of climate change and is de