Former Rio chief open on scandal

FORMER Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh says he acted ethically and legally during his time at the mining titan, which is under investigation over a payments scandal in West Africa.

Speaking at a business forum yesterday, Mr Walsh said there was “an elephant in the room” he wanted to address before he spoke about leadership.

The veteran mining executive said there has been no “admission of bribery or corruption” in relation to the Guinea payments issue.

“The company has not made any accusations against me and nor do I expect that there will be,” he said.

Mr Walsh retired from his post as Rio chief last July but in March this year Rio announced that some of his outstanding bonus payments would be deferred while Australian, British and US authorities investigated allegations of bribery in Guinea.

He said at the time that he had agreed to the deferral in good faith and had always acted lawfully.

Rio’s own investigation into $US10.5 million ($14.06 million) of payments – made in 2011 to a consultant on the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea – resulted in the dismissal of two top executives.