Asset stripping

Asset stripping is the practice of investors dealing directly with armed militant groups in developing nations to take direct control of assets that legally belong to the state or commons or any group in society that the investor and armed militant can effectively coerce. It has led to deforestation in Africa and Colombia and other harmful effects.

It is one of the few practices so vile as to require identifying people responsible in order to track the commercial activity enabled by stripping.

Source: Jim Friedman, UN panel on exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at conference on "Investment and human rights"