Unilever has suspended all financial support for the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation after the Vermont-based charity declined to supply documents requested by corporate auditors, according to an email sent by Peter ter Kulve, head of the consumer-goods group’s ice-cream division. The decision involves "millions of dollars" that Unilever had been contributing annually to the foundation. The audit was initiated partly over the charity’s donations to pro-Palestinian organisations and comes as Unilever prepares to spin off its global ice-cream portfolio later this year. Ter Kulve told Ben & Jerry’s executives that the trustees’ continued resistance to "basic oversight" represents a departure from standard governance practices. The foundation disbursed more than $5 million of Unilever funds in 2022, largely to progressive causes. Tensions between the parent company and its famously activist subsidiary have simmered since at least 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s halted ice-cream sales in Israeli-occupied territories. By cutting off funding ahead of the spin-off, Unilever is seeking to tighten control over financial and reputational risks as it reshapes the standalone business.