Rio Tinto is in
discussions with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) about a
possible deal under which the miner would avoid prosecution
on bribery allegations over dealings for the giant Simandou
iron mine in Guinea, the Financial Times reported.
At two billion
tonnes of iron ore with some of the highest grades in the
industry, Simandou is one of the world’s biggest and richest
reserves of the steelmaking material, but it has a
controversial past.
The Office is
reportedly seeking a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA)
over a payment Rio Tinto made that came under scrutiny in
2016. The world’s no. 2 miner fired two senior managers
over a questionable $10.5 million payment made to a
consultant who helped the company secure the two blocks and
alerted authorities, including the US Department of Justice
and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.
Rio Tinto had
previously held rights to develop all four blocks of
Simandou before being stripped of the rights to blocks 1 and
2 in 2008.
Emails from 2011
that were posted online showed senior Rio executives
discussing the payment to Combret.
The messages
indicate that Combret helped the company to secure its claim
to half of Simandou with a $700 million payment to the then
new government of Alpha Condé.
For negotiations to
begin under a DPA, a company must agree to terms that
include paying a fine and co-operating with future
prosecutions.
According to
information published by the SFO after a freedom of
information request, 66 individuals were interviewed under
caution in relation to DPAs between 2014 and April 2020 and
11 charged, but none have been convicted, the Financial
Times reported.
Source: Mining |