JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab should withdraw from working on the initial public offering of Chinese electric vehicle battery giant CATL , a Republican lawmaker said on Thursday.
John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said he sent letters to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, urging them to pull out of underwriting the upcoming Hong Kong IPO.
CATL has been designated as a Chinese military company by the U.S. Department of Defense, and its lithium-ion batteries may soon power China's submarine fleet, Moolenaar wrote in the letter to Dimon. He also alleged the company has ties to a paramilitary entity that operates forced labor camps for the Uyghur minority in China's Xinjiang region.
"If JPMorgan and Bank of America proceed with this IPO, they risk complicity in underwriting genocide, undermining American industry and endangering U.S. service members," Moolenaar said in a statement.
Spokespeople for JPMorgan and Bank of America declined comment.
