This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/8508028.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Rio Tinto workers 'to face trial' | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| China has indicted four Rio Tinto employees on charges of bribery and violating commercial secrets, according to the state news agency Xinhua. | China has indicted four Rio Tinto employees on charges of bribery and violating commercial secrets, according to the state news agency Xinhua. |
| The indictment means they will now face trial. Rio Tinto has declined to confirm or comment on the report. | |
| Australian citizen Stern Hu, Rio Tinto's lead iron ore negotiator in China, is one of the four facing trial. | Australian citizen Stern Hu, Rio Tinto's lead iron ore negotiator in China, is one of the four facing trial. |
| Mr Hu and the three other staff members have been in detention since their arrest in July. | Mr Hu and the three other staff members have been in detention since their arrest in July. |
| "The accused four, including Stern Hu, exploited their positions to seek gain for others, and numerous times either sought or illegally accepted massive bribes from a number of Chinese steel firms," said the prosecutor's office, as quoted by Xinhua. | |
| "Many times they used personal inducements and other improper means to obtain commercial secrets from Chinese steel firms, causing serious consequences for the steel firms concerned." | |
| "It is understood that the Shanghai Municipal First Intermediate People's Court has accepted this case according to the law," Xinhua said. | |
| The case has created a political and diplomatic problem for Australia's Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has made improving relations with Beijing a priority. | |
| China is Australia's biggest trading partner. | |
| A month before the arrests, Rio scrapped a $19.5bn (£12.5bn) deal with China's state-owned Chinalco in favour of a tie-up with rival giant BHP Billiton, which angered some in Beijing. |