JAKARTA — A major palm oil producer linked through supplier-reported mill lists to global brands like General Mills and PepsiCo has escaped sanction for allegedly concealing a web of “shadow companies” linked to deforestation and rights abuses, after the industry’s leading certification body ruled the allegations fell outside its current rules. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) dismissed allegations that Indonesian conglomerate First Resources Ltd. (FRL) controls a network of shadow companies — affiliates secretly under the same ownership but undeclared to regulators — despite evidence presented by NGOs linking these firms to deforestation, peatland destruction, river pollution and labor abuses. The decision by RSPO has triggered outrage among NGOs that say it exposes a loophol

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