The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

Australia Hints at Prisoner Swap in Rio Tinto Case

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/world/asia/16riotinto.html

›June 15, 2011
By DAVID BARBOZA

SHANGHAI — The Australian government said Wednesday that it was considering approval of a prisoner transfer treaty that could eventually allow Stern Hu, a former executive at the British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, to leave China and serve out the rest of his 10-year prison term in Australia.

The announcement, made by the Treaties Committee in the Australian Parliament, would also allow Chinese prisoners serving time in Australia to complete their terms here in China.

The arrest of Mr. Hu, a Chinese-born Australian citizen, strained diplomatic relations between Australia and China in 2009 and 2010 because of disputes about whether he and three other Rio Tinto employees had been fairly prosecuted over allegations that they had stolen secrets from Chinese state-owned companies. The prosecution of Mr. Hu and the others also raised anxieties among other foreign companies that do business in China.

Last March, Mr. Hu and the three Chinese employees were found guilty in Shanghai of accepting millions of dollars in bribes and stealing commercial secrets while working for Rio Tinto.

The four men, who each confessed to taking bribes, were sentenced to between 7 to 14 years in prison.

After the men were arrested in July 2009, the Australian government pressed for an open and fair trial and Rio Tinto said it had no evidence they had engaged in wrongdoing. Later, Rio Tinto said it was disappointed that the men had engaged in bribery.

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman at Rio Tinto’s London office said the company had no comment on the possible prisoner transfer treaty.‹