Rio Tinto Executives Plead Guilty to Bribery Charges
- 14 years ago
In Shanghai, three of the four Rio Tinto employees on trial for bribery and for infringing commercial secrets admitted at least some of the bribery allegations are true. This is the latest twist in the proceedings heavily criticized by the Australian government and scrutinized by the international business community.
Three of the four Rio Tinto executives standing trial in Shanghai, China pleaded guilty to taking bribes on their first day in court on Monday. The three are Australian national, Stern Hu and Chinese nationals Liu Caikui and Ge Minqiang. This information comes from a lawyer for one of the accused, Zhai Jian. It’s not clear how far the admissions go.
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[Tom Conner, Australia’s Consul General in Shanghai]: (English)
"Today's trial session was principally about the bribery charges and so this afternoon we had that session where the prosecution was able to put forward his evidence and then the defense, including the accused had an opportunity to speak to and address those pieces of evidence and tomorrow morning the trial will continue on the bribery charges.”
The detention and trial of the Rio Tinto employees has become a thorny relations issue between the Chinese regime and Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned the CCP regime in Beijing that the global financial community is paying close attention to the proceedings.
[Kevin Rudd, Australian PM]: (English)
"has a different legal system to Australia. China has a different legal system to the rest of the world. The world will be watching very closely how the trial is handled."
And there is a lot at stake, as companies around the world view the case as an indicator of potential dangers of doing future business in China.
Stern Hu and his three colleagues were detained by CCP authorities in July of 2009, at the height of intense iron ore price negotiations. Australia provides roughly 40% of China’s iron ore needs.
Three of the four Rio Tinto executives standing trial in Shanghai, China pleaded guilty to taking bribes on their first day in court on Monday. The three are Australian national, Stern Hu and Chinese nationals Liu Caikui and Ge Minqiang. This information comes from a lawyer for one of the accused, Zhai Jian. It’s not clear how far the admissions go.
[...]
[Tom Conner, Australia’s Consul General in Shanghai]: (English)
"Today's trial session was principally about the bribery charges and so this afternoon we had that session where the prosecution was able to put forward his evidence and then the defense, including the accused had an opportunity to speak to and address those pieces of evidence and tomorrow morning the trial will continue on the bribery charges.”
The detention and trial of the Rio Tinto employees has become a thorny relations issue between the Chinese regime and Australia. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned the CCP regime in Beijing that the global financial community is paying close attention to the proceedings.
[Kevin Rudd, Australian PM]: (English)
"has a different legal system to Australia. China has a different legal system to the rest of the world. The world will be watching very closely how the trial is handled."
And there is a lot at stake, as companies around the world view the case as an indicator of potential dangers of doing future business in China.
Stern Hu and his three colleagues were detained by CCP authorities in July of 2009, at the height of intense iron ore price negotiations. Australia provides roughly 40% of China’s iron ore needs.