Rio Tinto Bribery Case Turned Over to Chinese Officials

Rio Tinto Bribery Case Turned Over to Chinese OfficialsOn Monday, Australian officers confirmed that a bribery case which had managed to raise many concerns among international investors in China, has now been turned over to prosecutors, and they will now decide whether or not it should be taken to trial.

The case of bribery involves 4 employees of Rio Tinto, which is the one of the largest top ranked mining firms in the world, and one of them, Stern Hu, is a citizen of Australia.

On Monday, an official with China's Public Security Bureau shared that the probe phase of the case has not concluded yet, and the conflicting accounts could be reconciled immediately.

Hu and three the Chinese nationals, who were all working for Rop Tinto, have now been detained for 6 months.

As confirmed by China, the four employees had bribed executives from as many as 16 of the country's giant steel mills in order to obtain private industry information.

"The Australian Government continues to take a close interest in the case. At every opportunity, we have emphasized to the Chinese authorities the need for the case to be handled transparently and expeditiously", said an Australian representative.