The four Rio Tinto employees on trial in China for bribery and stealing commercial secrets have been found guilty and sentenced to prison. From the New York Times:
They were given sentences of 7 years to 14 years in prison, and were later dismissed by their employer.
Rio Tinto, which until Monday had defended its employees, said court evidence showing that in recent years the employees had accepted about $13.5 million in bribes was “beyond doubt.” Stern Hu, the Australian citizen who served as Rio Tinto’s general manager in Shanghai, was sentenced to seven years in prison for bribery and five years for stealing business secrets.
Although the court reduced his sentence to 10 years in prison, it is still one of the stiffest sentences ever handed down against a high-ranking executive working for a multinational company here.
See also “Australia blasts China over sentence” from The Age and “Rio reviews its systems after Stern Hu sentenced” from The Australian.
Read more about the Rio Tinto case via CDT.
