China levels new accusations against Rio Tinto

China claims the mining giant overcharged it by $100 million over six years.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China has leveled new allegations in the arrest of employees of one of the world's largest mining companies, saying Rio Tinto overcharged Chinese steel mills by $100 million over six years.

The latest allegations, involving the sale of iron ore, appeared on a Web site affiliated with China's state secrets administration.

A spokeswoman for Rio Tinto (RTP) said Monday that the company had heard about the new accusations but did not wish to comment on it.

Last month, China arrested four company employees on suspicion of stealing state secrets.

China said the four employees bribed executives from 16 of China's major steel mills to obtain industry information.

Rio Tinto has called the charges surprising and said it was not aware of any evidence to support an investigation.

The company recently was involved in annual negotiations about supply contracts with Chinese mills.

The arrests come a month after Rio Tinto broke off a more than $19 billion investment deal with China state-owned Chinalco.

The deal with Chinalco was signed in February and was awaiting a review by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

Rio Tinto has headquarters in London, England, and Melbourne, Australia.

The deal soured as opposition party members in Australia ratcheted disapproval, saying it would put Australian resources at strategic risk.

Others saw the deal as an alliance that would further link resource-rich Australia with the commodities-hungry Chinese market.

-- CNN's Jo Ling Kent contributed to this report. To top of page

Features
They're hiring!These Fortune 100 employers have at least 350 openings each. What are they looking for in a new hire? More
If the Fortune 500 were a country...It would be the world's second-biggest economy. See how big companies' sales stack up against GDP over the past decade. More
Sponsored By:
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.