Rio Tinto bribed all Chinese steel mills: report
July 15, 2009 - 2:41PM
Mining giant Rio Tinto bribed executives from all 16 of China's major steel mills, one of the nation's most prominent state-run newspapers alleges.
Rio targeted key executives for Chinese firms who negotiate iron ore prices with large foreign suppliers, the China Daily reported in a front-page article, although it cited just one unnamed industry insider.
"Rio Tinto got to know the key executives of the 16 steel mills, who have sensitive industry information, when the China Iron and Steel Association brought them to the bargaining table,'' said a senior manager at a large steel company, who requested anonymity, the paper said on Wednesday.
"And then Rio Tinto bribed them (to get access to industry data), which has become an unwritten industry practice,'' the source said.
"If companies didn't accept, they would have cut supplies and so the whole steel industry has been bribed.''
The English-language China Daily is often used by the government to deliver a message to a foreign audience.
When asked for a response to the China Daily allegations, Rio Tinto said it had no immediate comment.
Stern Hu, an Australian mining executive for Rio Tinto in charge of the iron ore business in China, and three Chinese colleagues were detained by counterespionage agents in Shanghai on July 5, prompting a wider investigation.
China has not outlined the specific allegations against Hu, but says it can prove he was guilty of stealing state secrets and causing huge economic loss to the country.
However it's state-run media have given more details of the allegations against him and the other executives.