Legally destroyed an area 6 times the size of new yorks central park. On the forest is only preserved around the village. Beyond that, everything has been destroyed. Must feel like businesses are driving whole tribes out of the forest they live and there is no rule of law. Only the law of the jungle. Those guys are very connected, they can france and the 2nd part us. So we need to be more careful the forest is destroyed primarily to make way for a legal grazing land for cattle raised for meat and leather. For example, these commodities reach the world market via convoluted supply chains. We followed the trail of visa, legal goods from deep inside the brazilian rain forest, all the way to germany. We talked a politicians and industry representatives, met environmental activists, journalists, and dubious Business Owners in the amazon. Again and again, various individuals and groups can do to our investigation. Overtime we started to suspect something shocking to products linked to illegal deforestation in the amazon end up in german luxury cars the every year in september unit coasts, the International Motor showed germany one of the largest mobility trade stairs in the world. This is where our research ended the industries involvement in International Environmental crimes. In the rain forest began. Ad banners were everywhere. These days, businesses including automakers, pay a lot of lip service to e mobility, climate protection, and resource conservation. Sustainability has become a buzzword. But in fact, most of the visitors here werent that interested not to just get that you care about Sustainability Skills and you have an event. Not really just the important resources have to come from somewhere and what is sustainability anyway. Busy its an attitude top executives in the german car industry seem to share, protecting the environment, costs money, and theres growing competition from china, only 1. 00 and 3. 00 executives worry about environmental concerns. Thats the so bring conclusion that International Study understand we are looking at the issue enters, could it be more of a priority . Yes, but it requires capital and raises the question of where to invest. We started seeing hints that german automakers dont look too closely at where materials come from, especially the leather used in luxury car, interiors. Our search for answers 1st took us to the east coast of the us. We arrange to meet Alexander Fund bismark, a leading figure in the fight against illegal deforestation. We met him in his favorite place, Rock Creek Park in washington, dc. The the german American Environmental activist has an interesting background. Hes a former us marine who became an undercover investigators looking into a legal deforestation in asia and africa. The real criminals, he told us, are not the people on the ground in the amazon target as well. The question is, where does the money come from . Wheres the pressure coming from the left and i soon find out that it often comes from our countrys land on collins today. Von, bismarck is director of the environmental investigation agency, an International Organization fighting climate and environmental crime using state of the art technology. He and his team are dedicated to exposing the operations perpetrating these offenses. The i says huge prophets are being made not only with wood golden diamonds, but above all, with the legal grazing land for cattle. In other words, with products such as meat, milk, and leather, which end up on the international market, the most items. And its important to understand that large scale criminal activity in the amazon is causing us to lose the forest. The goody, and the tragedy is that we, people who dont want to be involved in our insight bank, cooling these crimes. Because in the skate as the cumulative finance here, its a gigantic market. Every year. Brazil exports around 500000. 00 tons of cowhide, almost half of which goes to the International Auto industry. Its estimated that some 50 to 60000000 capital are required to meet the annual demand for leather upholstery and cars. Thats around 300 square kilometers of cowhide, an area bigger than the city of frankford. These huge profits make the amazon a hub of criminal activity. And those wanting to shed some light as are putting themselves in danger, or we can towers that allows to simulate of if you want to follow the money, you have to do a lot of research including under cover where im, im process a lot of data that we use Innovative Technologies and other methods to trace whats happening, but even unfortunately this research is incredibly dangerous, especially for low cost offending the forest. Its light of when glowed fairly steve the these other session on how the struggle on the ground is laid by Indigenous Peoples were defending their forest and their future and you have, i dont get it to come by typing despite the risks, we continued our journey heading to ground 0 of the problem, brazil fund bismark and his team promised to keep up the Research Back in washington, and help us when they could. Our 1st stop was cell power of the economic capital of south america. There we met journalist isabel herrera. She works for reporter brazil and association of investigative journalists and has been doing her own research in the rain forest. When i talk about the, the destruction of the amazon and then investigated for the tip of him to do and looking at the supply chain for them and talk to the car for what we had talking about a lot of money. And a lot of interviews behind isabel is currently working with a team making a film about the murder of investigative journalist tom phillips. Phillips was exposing environmental crimes in the amazon when he was shot dead on a boat in the jungle. In 2022 dont was really keen on the safety. So he was, he wasnt reckless. When youre reporting either amazon, i live with the 1st station id go mining. I did go log in and as its, its been yours. Just to meet there. Do you have any advice what so we shouldnt be careful about one the other. Yeah, theres always someone listening. So the way of that, isabel put us in touch with the colleague who comes from the region and knows his way around. But we then made our way to the amazon a massive area thats almost twice the size of the e. U at the airport at the regional capital monro box. We met your e. Isabels colleague from here we plan to drive to a p t r a y, a remote region. Deep in the rain forest fury estimated. Wed need almost 2 days for the journey done by off road vehicle boat and on foot illegal deforestation in a p. Today. Y is set to up, become particularly dramatic in recent years. We wanted to find out whos behind it. What we saw on roots was not how we had pictured the amazon. We saw cattle pastures everywhere and hardly any jungle. Probably during the entire 3 we would not see so much for rating for us as we possibly the way we were and kids. You know the biome here to change it to a lot. Were going to see a lot of cattle ranchers, farms, sometimes on the mines. So the damage dont change a lot during the past that gets and that change shows no sign of stopping again and again, we saw evidence of slash and burn agriculture scorched trees and chart stumps. After about 6 hours of driving, we arrived himself at leaks the end of the road. Judy founded guides willing to take us up the single river to a p today. What is that is all about which one was the red roof right there. The indigenous product cannot people live up today why live from the forest and its destruction threatens their livelihood . Criminal farmers, even minutes them in their own villages. The tribal leaders were ready to welcome us, none the less you to gain the trust to go in there. Its been an honor for us to which means that there we have of that trust. So its good to think who is one of the main rivers in the amazon . Its banks are home to numerous indigenous communities. We made slower progress then wed hoped the region is currently experiencing unprecedented trouts. Our guide was forced to navigate carefully to avoid getting stuck in the 15 minutes to be done because we can see the, the beginning of the up in our on the right side. We finally reached our destination after 8 hours until the 1970s. The prerogative were completely isolated. Today they live in a protected area as large as bizarre lawn region in germany. Economic exploitation is prohibited in the truck and not are trying to maintain their traditional way of life. But criminal businesses are penetrating, deeper and deeper into their territory. The tribal leader had just taken in some people leading neighboring villages after they had been threatened by armed men. But they werent safe here either as im yeah. So we have been getting threats for a long time each year, but its getting worse, doesnt she said these days the interrelations are constant warming. Thing on their clashes in the forest have become frequent, come was inducing those. Now, as soon as we are hunters customizable, we go into the woods and hunts mania dear on one of my board books out of the cast investments a revised science man. Its become more difficult to to the foreigners coming into our lines. Tedious come, was transferred to another 1000 faders or here we must travel longer and longer distances to hunt under met you already invited us to accompany the hunters into the jungle. He said they could best explain what worsening deforestation means for the part rock and people. Yeah, but but, but in the past we always had enough. Uh, but we only take as much of the forest as we need to to uh what i mean since the white people have been taking the forest away from us. We sometimes most travel for days. Notice uh while the hunters continued deeper into the jungle, we returned to the village to meet when a tow a park. And shes the 1st female tribal leader. She told us some of the men have secretly started doing business with the criminals. Thats why the village had decided to put a woman in charge. Shes considered, incorruptible. Thats what it is for us. Now, the forest is on life, a mother or father, a home. Its a future. Its a power dies for our children. If it continues to be destroyed, it will soon be gone forever. There will be no more of the fuel and we need to breeds not only for us here in the forest, but also for white people, for the whole world. To use this to win a toe is ready to fight for the forest. Although the rock and ill have the law on their side, the jungles destruction remains on checked. Lake laws made by white people dont seem to be working. I wonder if the people who buy cattle from here even think about what they are doing there also complicit in the destruction of a forest in a peter re well. So they buy the products from these invaders in finance. What theyre doing for kid, south of these sounds down to you, but who are these people destroying the forest to make way for their herds of cattle . Are they working for the International Corporations . We met up with alexander from bismark again. His colleagues had been able to gather some information about these a legal Businesses Team leader Rick Jacobson had worked his way through gigantic amounts of data, including documents from local authorities, financial databases and aerial photographs. He confirmed with the product and now have long set. A legal profit tiers are destroying the local forest at a rapid pace. You can see up to 31. 00 of the largest areas, deforestation the entire design, amazon. And you may have noticed an acceleration just in the last few years as exactly as i say in this area here, skyrocketing of deforestation, and we know from a satellite analysis that most of that before. So land has been covered. And in the past year, and what you can see here very clearly are hundreds of tasks and you could literally count the house using satellite images, photo analysis, and statistical evaluations. The team was able to establish how the criminals proceed. What our investigation found is that cattle are often transferred between multiple farms during the course of their life before their so for slaughter. That makes it very difficult to link the illegal. The 1st station or cause may have been raised with the cider house. Rick calls the system cattle laundering because it works in a similar way to money laundering. All traces of illegal dealings are erased. Explain that account raised on a legally cleared land is sold to a farm outside the area that farm then legally sells the animal to International Corporations from they are the products made from the animals like meat, milk, and leather, end up on the global market. The consumers in germany at the far end of the supply chain are therefore unwittingly contributing to deforestation in the amazon. Yeah, theres a lot of evidence for that systemic, and the amazon has been the growth region for the visit link out on the street for more than exec. So all across the amazon raising slaughterhouses, whether tanner is popping up right in the heart of where the deforestation is happening. The analysis, employing Innovative Research methods provided even more detail, like identifying numerous suspicious individuals weve been collecting, using very large datasets of count transport permits which has been vital and essential to mixing together parts of the supply chains. Weve also connected these data sets with deforestation data sets with Real Property data sets that that show who owns which property. The trail leads to several large farms which according to the register, belonged to caesar and his relatives, a well known local family. The we traveled back to the amazon to find out whos buying the familys goods and whether there really are connections to german automakers. We made up with your e again, who had bad news. He said the security situation had deteriorated since our last visit. He showed his recent footage shot by security forces, attempts to disarm criminals and crack down and illegal livestock farming in the area had resulted in clashes with the police during which several farmers and security guards were injured. The, this is one of the 3 things to find that you are investigating something here in, in, in the amazon. Anything connects to the guy with the footage also shows an influential lawyer who works with the farmers filming the action. His lawyer told me that he owns, hes on the airplane to, to visit the errors, to visit the farms of his clients. So it shows how hope are off today his business. Our research started to make some waves. The same lawyer began railing against us on social media morning, his father worse about us and claiming we wanted to harm the country. Exposure to i know they will be coming soon and ive taken a closer look at what theyre doing. Theyre making fun of our homeland. They use image sequences to manipulate opinion. Theyre violating brazil sovereignty. Those guys are very connected. So any news, any information they spread very fast. You know, it doesnt matter if its true or not. If you try doing any kind of interview with a farmer, they probably would say no if they just say no, its good for us because right now maybe they can do something worse than just say no, no, they can. For us in the house, they can know do anything to harm us. So we need to be more careful if but judy also had some good news. Hed manage to obtain confidential documents from the Public Prosecutors office, and motor bob. In them. He repeatedly came across a familiar name, caesar and we got in touch with the investigators in motor by the regional capital. Prosecutor egos spend all the agreed to talk to us. He said the scale of the problem is vast. Happy that a while alone, the territory of the cannot. Investigators have identified some 80 suspects and more than 60000 suspected illegal cattle point someone somebody was and i think it was a lot of work and it was a vast amount of data. And this is a large swats of land. We employed complex methods, a new programs, including a i to filter all the data and evaluated who they just have to sell. The prosecutor set former president ial here. Both scenario had downright boy called at the investigation. During his time in office, the far right politician had promoted the rain forests commercial exploitation. Now under left this, the president lou let us silva. The government has changed to attack the e. You is also exerting increasing pressure. But on the ground, its still a battle of david versus goliath. Sockets in pain points to convince him that you can only come by says, over time, these businesses, from a more and more money into the region. Ive seen their owner as soon move up the social letter maintenance. Okay. It doesnt take much, they dont have to buy the land and they just occupier and multiply their wealth quickly. This is also thought this was important to get closer and closer to political power, except for the new charges in a way. It is some kind of organized crime. You know, its one of those crimes which we, we treated this by you legally feel like activity in the middle of the amazon and additional apparatus that struggling to cope. We set out to contact the csr and the farmer whose name appears in the Public Prosecutors files and who had been identified by the researchers back in washington. We located his farm quickly using g o coordinates. We wanted to find out who is buying his cattle, which is suspected to be illegal, but we were stopped in our tracts. The farmers land is in the middle of an especially dangerous part of the rain forest, an area that had seen the days of unrest. We decided to try another approach. We had been contacted by someone in the provincial town of to come said to have inside information that lets try to the man is said to be working with caesar and on a regular basis. How can i help you guys . Wed like to talk to a bit of farmer. I know a lot of farmers were looking for his r n. O. So sir . Sure, i know him. If he wants, we can talk in my office. Not here the street. You know how it is . Anyone might be listening. We didnt expect the man to be so open. We followed him inside and continued filming with a hidden camera. In his office, the man picked up the phone to call. The csr saying the farmer was on one of his properties. Sees are flat out, refused to talk to us on camera, but he was willing to give us his cellphone number. Suddenly another man entered the office. When he heard that we were asking about local farmers, he got angry i dont know what you want, but it sounds suspicious to me. If y