If there’s one thing that boils my blood, it’s watching billionaires play god with the world while the rest of us choke on their excesses. Here we are in 2025, and the Bamford family – those smug overlords of JCB, the British digger behemoth – are still bulldozing through ethics like their machines through Palestinian homes. This isn’t some glossy corporate fairy tale; it’s a gritty, gut-wrenching saga of greed, corruption, and outright complicity in human misery. And yeah, let’s get this out of the way early: JCB has historically been a major customer of Cummins engines, powering their earth-shattering beasts for years before shifting gears. That ties them straight into the Cummins ecosystem – yet another player in the long line of ethically bankrupt outfits that TCAP has been exposing on tcap.blog. We’ve seen this pattern before, folks: big players with “alternative ideas” on right and wrong, and now JCB’s turn in the spotlight reveals the same rotten playbook.

I’ve dug deep into the muck here, and what I’ve found is a family empire built on backroom deals, tax dodges, and machinery that enables atrocities. Anthony Bamford, the lordly chairman with his peerage and his billions, his brother Mark, and the heir apparent Jo – they’re not just building excavators; they’re constructing a fortress of impunity. This piece isn’t for the faint-hearted; it’s raw, it’s angry, and it’s about time someone called this shit out without pulling punches.

Bulldozers of Oppression: JCB’s Role in Human Rights Atrocities

Start with the blood on their tracks. JCB’s machinery isn’t just shifting dirt; it’s demolishing lives in some of the world’s most volatile hotspots. Take Palestine, where Israeli forces and settlers have used JCB bulldozers to raze homes, uproot olive groves, and wipe out entire villages in the West Bank. Amnesty International nailed it in their 2021 report – JCB’s kit is front and centre in what looks like systematic ethnic cleansing. The UN’s Special Rapporteur has linked JCB directly to demolitions in places like Humsa al-Foqa, where families are left homeless in the blink of an eye. And get this: the UK’s own National Contact Point ruled that JCB violated OECD human rights guidelines. They knew damn well what their machines were being used for, but hey, profits over people, right?

It’s not just Palestine. Swing over to India, where “bulldozer justice” under BJP-led governments targets Muslim properties with ruthless precision. JCB equipment has been the weapon of choice in Uttar Pradesh and Kashmir, smashing through homes during crackdowns on dissenters. Over a hundred writers boycotted JCB’s literature prizes in 2024, calling out the hypocrisy – funding artsy events while enabling destruction. An OECD complaint in 2025 accused them of complicity in these extrajudicial demolitions. Shocking? You bet. Outrageous? Absolutely. These bastards sell the tools of oppression and then wash their hands, claiming they can’t control end-use. Bullshit. They profit from the pain, and it’s time we stopped letting them hide behind corporate veils.

War Profiteering: Supplying Russia Amid Ukraine’s Agony

While the world watched Ukraine burn under Putin’s invasion, JCB was quietly keeping the taps open to Russia. They announced a “voluntary pause” in exports days after the 2022 attack, but Russian customs records tell a different story – JCB-built gear kept rolling in as late as mid-2023. Owned by Tory mega-donor Anthony Bamford, the firm funnelled machines through third parties, skirting sanctions like pros. Their Russian dealer, a well-connected millionaire with oligarch links, kept the operation humming while Ukrainian civilians suffered.

JCB’s lawyers spin it as “pre-existing stock,” but come on – that’s just fancy talk for profiteering off aggression. Amid Bamford’s £1.3 million donations to the Tories post-UN findings on Palestine, this reeks of hypocrisy on steroids. What kind of twisted morality lets you pause “voluntarily” while still shipping the goods? It’s enraging, it’s immoral, and it exposes the Bamfords as opportunistic vultures circling the carnage for scraps.

Tax Dodging on an Epic Scale: The alleged £500 Million Heist

Now, let’s talk money – or rather, how the Bamfords have allegedly dodged half a billion quid in UK taxes. HMRC has been probing Anthony and Mark for three years over offshore schemes that funneled JCB shares into Bermudan trusts. The goal? Minimise inheritance and corporation tax like it’s a game. Mark accuses Anthony of illegally shifting their late mother’s shares after her 2003 death, while the family extracted £300 million in dividends in 2024 alone. JCB paid a pathetic 1.2% tax on £4.1 billion revenue back in 2018 – that’s daylight robbery from the public purse.

Anthony even withdrew his peerage nomination in 2011 amid tax smears, only to get ennobled by Cameron anyway. The Panama Papers tied them to shady offshore firms, and they’ve been accused of lavishing perks on politicians like Blair and Cameron. While under investigation, they donated millions to the Tories, including funding Johnson’s wedding and flat with £27,000 in organic grub from Carole Bamford’s Daylesford brand. It’s a slap in the face to every taxpayer scraping by. These pricks game the system, hoard their wealth, and leave the rest of us footing the bill. Infuriating doesn’t cover it.

Political Puppetry: Cash for Access and Cronyism

The Bamfords’ wallet has been the Tories’ best friend, with over £10 million in donations buying influence that’s as blatant as it is disgusting. Anthony hosted “cash for Cameron” dinners in 2012, wined Blair on his yacht (freebies galore), and chucked £100k at Vote Leave despite JCB’s EU factories. He backed Rebekah Brooks during the phone-hacking mess, and in 2024, the Tories pocketed £1.3m from JCB right after UN slams on Palestine. Now, ties to Reform UK amid the tax probe? Smells like desperation.

Johnson lived rent-free in Bamford pads while getting £800-a-roll wallpaper funded – classic “cash for access.” Anthony’s 2013 peerage stank of cronyism after his tax dodge withdrawal. This isn’t politics; it’s a pay-to-play racket where billionaires pull strings and the public gets screwed. The Bamfords aren’t donors; they’re investors expecting returns, and it’s corroding democracy from the inside out.

Family Feuds: Greed Tears the Dynasty Apart

Even within their gilded cage, the Bamfords can’t play nice. Heir Jo sued his ex-bestie Marc Manheim in 2019 over a US forklift venture, claiming $5.9m in skimmed profits used for green cards, cannabis deals, and strip club sprees. Court docs exposed Jo’s “surreptitious” takeover bids and Manheim’s alleged $4.4m siphon for a lavish life. Jo lost the fraud claim in 2022, but the negligent misrepresentation stuck – a tabloid-worthy mess from a “best friend” partnership gone toxic.

Meanwhile, Mark’s battling Anthony over £40m-plus “loans” via obscure JCB Research and improper share shifts post-mum’s death. A 2010 High Court showdown loomed over the empire’s future. This infighting lays bare the rot: a family so consumed by greed they turn on each other, all while preaching corporate virtue. Pathetic and predictable.

More Dirt: Cartels, Raids, and Land Grabs

The scandals don’t stop. In 2000, JCB copped a £22m EU fine for price-fixing and anti-competitive antics – ironic for a Brexit backer. In India, 2014 CCI raids hit JCB for unfair trade and bid-rigging. They settled a 2010 design theft case against an Asian rival. During COVID, subsidiaries grabbed £600k in UK aid despite Dutch tax haven ties. And Carole Bamford? Accused of “ruining” a Cotswolds village by snapping up properties and displacing locals – the epitome of entitled land-grabbing.

This pattern screams entitlement. JCB and the Bamfords prioritise profits, wield political clout to dodge accountability, and leave destruction in their wake. Ongoing probes like HMRC’s hint at more to come, but enough is enough. It’s time to hold these bastards accountable before they bury us all.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

Customer Corner : Digging Up Dirt – JCB and the Bamford Dynasty