bloombergRioTinto bribed all 16 Chinese steel mills - state...

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RioTinto bribed all 16 Chinese steel mills - state media



BEIJING, July 15 AFP - Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto

Ltd 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.