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Rio Tinto, the world’s second largest mining company, first suspended , then fired, Alan Davies, head of its energy and mineral division, after discovering payments made to a consultant working on its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. Alan Davies vowed to take the “strongest possible legal action” against Rio.
When Rio Tinto revealed the probe into the payments, the company said it only learned about the issue in August. But people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the company actually discovered the 2011 emails referring to the $10.5 million expense over a year ago, when its lawyers were working on a legal dispute about Simandou.
According to Rio Tinto’s CEO, the company’s employees are deeply distraught by the allegations.