Rio vowing to contest fraud claim

RIO Tinto chairman Simon Thompson ( pictured) says the mining giant will vigorously defend itself against allegations of fraud.

Speaking at his first Australian general meeting, Mr Thompson said the AngloAustralian mining giant was committed to a culture of transparency and integrity.

“Over the past two years, our reputation has been called into question, by allegations of accounting fraud in relation to former assets in Mozambique and of bribery in Guinea ( Africa),” Mr Thompson told shareholders yesterday.

“Despite these events, as I visit our operations around the world, I am convinced that Rio Tinto’s culture is both strong and healthy.”

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Tuesday updated its allegations against Rio Tinto, its former chief executive Tom Albanese and former chief financial officer Guy Elliott, about the timing of a multi- billion dollar writedown linked to a failed coal project in Mozambique.

The project was listed in Rio’s 2012 half- year accounts as worth $ US3.4 billion ($ 4.5 billion) but then sold for $ US50 million in 2014.

Mr Albanese and Mr Elliott failed to comply with auditing rules and failed to exercise their powers and discharge their duties with care and diligence, ASIC alleges.