Rio Tinto Terminates Two Executives After Guinea Bribery Scandal

(RTTNews) - Rio Tinto (RTPPF.PK, RIO.L, RIO, RTNTF.PK) said that it terminated the contracts of Energy & Minerals chief executive Alan Davies and Legal & Regulatory Affairs Group executive Debra Valentine.

The Rio Tinto board reviewed the findings to date of an internal investigation into 2011 contractual arrangements with a consultant who provided advisory services on the Simandou project in Guinea.

The board's decision does not pre-judge the course of any external inquiries into this matter. However, the board concluded that the executives failed to maintain the standards expected of them under global code of conduct, The way we work. In the circumstances, the board terminated the contracts of both executives.

In accordance with contract termination, neither executive will be eligible for any short-term incentive plan awards for 2016. Rio Tinto will also cancel all unvested incentive plan awards from previous years. As previously announced, Rio Tinto contacted the regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States about the matter and intends to fully cooperate with any subsequent inquiries. Further comment at this time is therefore not appropriate.

Alan Davies will be replaced by Bold Baatar, who will join the Executive Committee as Energy & Minerals chief executive.

The Chief financial officer Chris Lynch has temporarily assumed accountability for the corporate Legal& Regulatory Affairs function. The recruitment process for a new chief legal counsel has commenced.