KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): FGV Holdings Bhd said it has appointed Elevate as the independent auditing firm to conduct an assessment of the plantation group’s operations against the 11 indicators of forced labour as provided by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

This follows the group’s announcement last month that it will formalise the appointment of an independent auditor by November, in its effort to remove the US ban on its palm oil products.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday (Nov 16), FGV said Elevate is an independent sustainability and supply chain service provider with vast experience in advancing social compliance and addressing forced labour risks by applying a worker-centric approach.

FGV said the assessment is part of the group’s efforts towards petitioning for the revocation of the Withhold Released Order (WRO) issued by the US Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) on Sept 30, 2020, against palm oil and palm oil products made by the group and its subsidiaries, as well as joint ventures.

“We have already had discussions with our US-based legal counsel and Elevate on the audit design and plan, which is expected to begin in November 2021," it added.

The CBP had said that its investigation reasonably indicated signs of forced labour such as deception, physical and sexual violence, the retention of identity documents and intimidation, and that threats had been made.

The US agency also raised concerns that forced child labour was potentially used in FGV's production processes. The ban was effective immediately on the same day of the announcement.

Since then, FGV said it has placed utmost importance on efforts towards the revocation of the WRO and has adopted a holistic approach to resolve applicable findings of the CBP.

Shares of FGV closed unchanged at RM1.47 on Tuesday,  valuing the group at RM5.36 billion.