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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has launched an investigation into mining major Rio Tinto’s dealings in Guinea, regarding an alleged $10.5-million payment to a consultant on the Simandou iron-ore project.
A furor erupted in November 2016 after Rio revealed it had become aware of a string of emails from 2011 that referred to the payment of a consultant providing advisory services on the Simandou project.
The fallout included the dismissal of energy and minerals chief Alan Davies and legal and regulatory affairs group executive Debra Valentine, while a decision on then-CEO Sam Walsh’s performance-related pay has also been suspended for two years.
The AFP said in a statement to Mining Weekly Online on Tuesday that it was “actively engaging” with Rio in the investigation, pointing out that it is also a member of the International Foreign Bribery Taskforce, working closely with domestic and international counterparts to investigate allegations of foreign bribery.
“As this is subject to an ongoing investigation, it is not appropriate for the AFP to provide any further comment at this time,” the AFP said.