Rio China employees found guilty and sentenced to jail term

The Chinese court handed down its verdict in the Rio Tinto case. Chinese nationals Wang Yong, Ge Minqiang and Liu Caikui were sentenced to 14, eight and seven years, respectively, with combined fines reaching 6.7 million yuan.

Mr. Hu will pay USUSD146,000 fines in addition to serving 10 years in prison, starting with his detention in July 2009.

The Anglo-Australian mining company — which had once defended its four accused employees — swiftly fired them Monday, saying there was “clear evidence” they took bribes.

A Shanghai court issued its finding that Stern Hu was guilty of charges as he accepted around USUSD935,000 in bribes from steelmakers - which he admitted doing on two occasions - and stole commercial secrets that undermined China’s steel industry.

Stephen Smith, Australia’s foreign minister, didn’t challenge the verdict but called the sentences “very harsh.”

The judge alleged a “direct cause-and-effect relationship” between the actions of the Rio Tinto employees and extra charges of over one billion yuan to China’s steel industry for iron ore last year.

Yet, the Chinese court did not disclose much about the information the executives were alleged to have stolen.

Rio Tinto’s quick response despite the fact aits own internal investigation revealed no problems in its China operations and it had no involvement in the court proceedings or access to its employees since their detentions, sent a determined signal that it respects the validity of the verdict.

A Beijing-based attorney said a guilty verdict virtually requires a company to take action to display its acknowledgment that a local court has jurisdiction. Doing anything else would expose it to risks that include shareholder lawsuits and lost government contracts.

International brief

Rio China employees found guilty and sentenced to jail term

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