Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group. The Group's major products include aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy products, gold, industrial minerals (borates, titanium dioxide, salt and talc), and iron ore.
See more information about Rio Tinto
Police detain Shougang executive in Rio espionage probe
China yesterday detained an executive of Shougang (SZ:000959) in connection with Rio Tinto probe, in which four employees of the Anglo-Australian miner have been accused of espionage. The executive, Tan Yi Xin, is said to be a friend of Hu Stern, the Australian Rio employee detained on Sunday.
Eastday.com yesterday quoted the Shanghai Bureau of State Security as alleging that Rio employees used financial inducements to obtain sensitive information related to the Chinese iron-ore market from Chinese steel mill officials.
Chinese authorities also claim to have obtained evidence that they stole state secrets. Foreign ministry sokesman Qin Gang said it would not be in Australia’s interest to let the case become “exaggerated or politicised”. Rio has said it will cooperate with the investigations but that it is unaware of evidence supporting the claims.
According to the Financial Times, the case highlights the grey area of what counts as a "state secret". The newspaper quoted an unnamed lawyer who explained that even performing due diligence on a company looking to list in Hong Kong could bring up information that could be considered a state secret.
Other Rio Tinto news
- Rio first half profits fall 65pct, in-line with expectations
2009-08-21 - China accuses Rio of six-year "commercial espionage" program
2009-08-10 - Rio Tinto employees arrested amid reports of Chinese climbdown in iron-ore negociations
2009-07-08 - Rio BHP deal highlights strategic importance of seaborne iron ore
2009-06-10 - Rio Tinto calls off sale of borates business
2009-05-23
