8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (5)
#18459129 at 2023-03-07 03:27:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #22634: Enter The Comfefe Edition
Rio Tinto Pays $15 Million Penalty Over SEC Bribery Allegations
Rio Tinto Group has agreed to pay a $15 million penalty to settle US claims of bribery in Guinea, more than six years after a payment connected to a vast iron ore deposit in the West African nation prompted the mining giant to fire two of its top executives. The Securities and Exchange Commission said a political consultant working for Rio had tried to bribe a Guinean government official. Additionally, the miner didn't properly record its payments to the person, the SEC said on Monday, adding that the company had inadequate accounting controls. Rio Tinto agreed to the penalty without admitting or denying the violations, according to the SEC. The regulator said the conduct was in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
The allegations form part of Rio's long and turbulent history in Guinea as it tried to get access to the rich iron ore reserves of the Simandou region. Two executives - Alan Davies and Debra Valentine - were terminated in 2016 under then-Chief Executive Officer Jean-Sebastien Jacques, when Rio reported questions over a consultant to the SEC and other watchdogs. Davies was Rio's CEO of energy and minerals, while Valentine was group executive of legal and regulatory affairs. Both denied claims of wrongdoing. Production is yet to begin at Simandou, where Rio now holds a majority stake in two of the four tenements in a joint venture with China's Chalco Iron Ore Holdings and the Guinean government. The shareholders continue to negotiate details of the project, which Rio describes as the "largest and richest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit in the world".
Monday's resolution stems from an investigation into conduct from 2011, when Rio Tinto hired a French investment banker to help with the mining rights issue in Guinea, the SEC said. The banker, according to the SEC, offered more than $800,000 to a Guinean government official in an attempt to retain the mining rights. Rio Tinto, which was able to keep them, paid the consultant $10.5 million for the work.
The bribery allegations were also investigated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, which did not take action, and the UK Serious Fraud Office, which has not reported its findings.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/rio-tinto-pays-15-million-penalty-over-sec-bribery-allegations-1.1891885
#15334561 at 2022-01-08 23:52:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #19396: Dank EBake
>>15334532
ScoMo's top adviser John Kunkel fled Simon Niven's Rio Tinto
After Phil Gaetjens left Scott Morrison's office last month to become the (then) Treasurer's departmental secretary, he was succeeded as ScoMo's chief of staff by John Kunkel - the economist and a one-time senior adviser in John Howard's Cabinet Policy Unit would've spent Sunday moving back into the Prime Minister's wing.
Before returning to Canberra, Dr Kunkel (for a doctor he is, Gerard Henderson) served as deputy chief executive at the NEG-friendly Minerals Council of Australia. Subsequently, though - and here's where it gets interesting - he ran the government relations function at Rio Tinto, toiling under bungling group executive Simone Niven.
Presented with Jean-Sebastien Jacques' now infamous edict to either "fit in or f— off," Dr Kunkel evidently opted for the latter, departing in May. Barely three months later, JS and Niven have themselves a recent refugee of their poisonous FIFO corporate culture as one the - if not the - most powerful political staffer in Canberra, right as Rio Tinto pivots its white collar operations dramatically towards Australia because JS' wife (retired French yummy mummy Muriel Dermarcus) quite likes it here. Were Rio a sitcom, it'd be worthy of an Emmy.
JS claimed in March that before his glorious reign began at Rio, "lots of people were talking about performance culture but very few people were doing it". And, "to restore the pride of [Rio's] people and unless the positive energy" he is now "assessing leaders based on performance indicators from safety to employee engagement"
As we revealed in March, Niven's staff is collectively, overwhelmingly dissatisfied. Her Corporate Relations division was polled for the quarter ending December 31, throwing up a Net Promoter Score (reached by deducting detractors of the company from its promoters) of minus 38. Yet JS then paid Niven ?1.061 million ($1.86 million) in 2017, awarding her 62.2 per cent of her maximum short-term incentives.
https://www.afr.com/rear-window/scomos-top-adviser-john-kunkel-fled-simon-nivens-rio-tinto-20180826-h14j00
Peter COSTELLO
Chairman of the Board of Guardians of the Future Fund [161], an Australian government investment fund, with over 2 billion dollars worth of shares in pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers i.e. CSL, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, Novartis and Merck [100]. The Future Funds investment in pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers has doubled from $1 billion to $2 billion during the coronavirus situation.
Non-Executive Chairman of Nine Entertainment Co. [44].
Nine Entertainment own newspapers "the Sydney Morning Herald" and "The Sun Herald" [154], who were/are instrumental in "anti-vax" labelling [155].
https://imoparty.com/Conflicts-of-Interest-in-Vaccination-Policies
#13024527 at 2021-02-22 20:00:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #16588: Trump Will Speak At CPAC Edition
Rio Tinto executive got big pay rise after review of Juukan cave blast
It has been revealed the man responsible for leading a review into Rio Tinto's Juukan Gorge disaster received an enormous pay rise.
Key points:
The Rio Tinto executive in charge of the review into the blasting of Juukan Gorge caves received 46 per cent on top of his annual director fees
CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques also received a 20 per cent pay rise, according to the company's annual report
Rio Tinto defended the inquiry into the Juukan cave blasts, which was helmed by a director who owns shares in the company
Last year, the company blasted 46,000-year-old rock shelters in Western Australia's Pilbara region, despite warnings of the site's cultural significance to Indigenous Australians.
Yesterday, Rio Tinto published its annual report.
The report's remuneration section shows the man who led the internal inquiry into the disaster, Michael L'Estrange, was paid an extra 46 per cent on top of his annual director fees for his efforts.
Subsequently, his director fees for 2020 totalled $US227,000 ($288,386).
The way the Juukan Cave blast was handled was a corporate disaster, according to Thomas Clarke, who specialises in management and corporate governance.
"As a director, he shouldn't have been doing the job in the first place, but attaching a big fee to it wasn't really very appropriate either," he told the ABC's PM program.
"A disgraceful occurrence that no corporation should ever have allowed to occur."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-23/rio-tinto-paid-bonuses-after-review-into-juukan-cave-blast/13180178
destroys sacred site gets bonus
#10599247 at 2020-09-11 03:31:28 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #13563: Excellent Q - you should ask (as should every American) Edition
Rio Tinto boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques quits over Juukan Gorge blast
Rio Tinto's chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques will resign "by mutual agreement" following the destruction of Aboriginal heritage sites by the company this year.
Key points:
Jean-Sebastien Jacques is leaving Rio Tinto early next year after more than four years as CEO
Two other senior executives, the heads of iron ore and corporate affairs, are also leaving
The departures are in response to Rio Tinto's destruction of ancient Aboriginal cultural heritage sites in May this year
The company's head of iron ore Chris Salisbury and head of corporate relations Simone Niven have also stepped down.
Mr Salisbury and Ms Niven will leave the company by the end of the year, following handover periods with their replacements.
Mr Jacques will stay at the company until March 31, 2021, or until his successor is appointed, which Rio Tinto said is to "ensure business continuity".
Rio has been under intense pressure to sack the three executives following the miner's decision to destroy ancient Aboriginal heritage sites in the Juukan Gorge in May.
"What happened at Juukan was wrong and we are determined to ensure that the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again at a Rio Tinto operation," Rio chairman Simon Thompson said in a statement.
Australia's human history is being wiped away
The destruction of ancient Indigenous sites like the Juukan caves is not new for Western Australia.
Read more
"We are also determined to regain the trust of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people and other Traditional Owners."
Chairman says investors played a key role in staffing decision
Mr Thompson acknowledged that shareholder concerns played a significant role in the eventual decision to part ways with the three executives who were seen as directly accountable for the Juukan Gorge blasting.
"We have listened to our stakeholders' concerns that a lack of individual accountability undermines the group's ability to rebuild that trust and to move forward to implement the changes identified in the board review."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-11/rio-tinto-boss-Jean-Sebastien-Jacques-quits-over-juukan-blast/12653950
#10599083 at 2020-09-11 03:16:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #13563: Excellent Q - you should ask (as should every American) Edition
Rio Tinto chief Jean-Sebastien Jacques to quit over Aboriginal cave destruction
The boss of Rio Tinto, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, will step down following criticism of the mining giant's destruction of sacred Aboriginal sites. In May, the world's biggest iron ore miner destroyed two ancient caves in Pilbara, Western Australia. The company went ahead with blowing up the Juukan Gorge rock shelters despite the opposition of Aboriginal traditional owners. It has sparked widespread condemnation from shareholders and the public. On Friday, the company said in a statement that "significant stakeholders have expressed concerns about executive accountability for the failings identified".
The board said Mr Jacques would remain as the chief executive until March, or until a successor was appointed. Other senior executives, including the heads of the miner's iron ore and corporate relations divisions, will also leave the company at the end of the year. The caves - seen as one of Australia's most significant archaeological research sites - had shown evidence of continuous human habitation dating back 46,000 years. They sat above about eight million tonnes of high-grade iron ore, with an estimated value of £75m (A$132m; $96m). Australia's parliament is currently holding an inquiry into the miner's actions.
Rio Tinto also held its own inquiry earlier this year, after which the company cut bonuses for directors and began attempts at repairing relations with Aboriginal communities. "What happened at Juukan was wrong and we are determined to ensure that the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again at a Rio Tinto operation," said chairman Simon Thompson. Artefacts found at the caves include a 28,000-year-old animal bone tool and a 4,000-year-old belt made of plaited human hair. DNA testing had directly linked it to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people - the traditional owners of the land. After the caves were destroyed, a PKKP representative, John Ashburton, said losing the site was a "devastating blow". "There are less than a handful of known Aboriginal sites in Australia that are as old as this one… its importance cannot be underestimated," he said.
Last week it was revealed that in the days running up to the caves' destruction in May, Rio Tinto hired lawyers in case opponents tried to seek injunctions to stop them. Although the company said it had permission for the work under Aboriginal heritage laws, critics said it suggested the miner was aware of the site's cultural importance. In June, rival miner BHP also halted its plans to expand its mine in the Pilbara region in June following outcry over Rio's actions.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54112991
8chan/8kun QResearch AUSTRALIA Posts (3)
#10705304 at 2020-09-19 06:02:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #10 - INFORMATION WARFARE Edition
#9 - Part 16
Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition Bun
>>10292284 Lawyers for Julian Assange say '11th hour' decision by US government to lodge new charges against him is 'astonishing and potentially abusive'
>>10368354 Crowdfund appeal launched for Julian Assange
>>10368361 Stella Moris: Join my fight to free Julian Assange and stop US extradition
>>10423178 Partner says Assange 'in a lot of pain'
>>10542765 Mother of Assange's two children tearfully warns of the WikiLeaks founder's fate as the US begins its Old Bailey extradition bid
>>10563657 Julian Assange's new friend Bob Carr fights his US extradition
>>10563697, >>10563701 Julian Assange 'a suicide risk', says defence
>>10575174 'This is nonsense': Julian Assange interjections earn stern warning
>>10586571 Trump is targeting Assange because he dislikes Obama, court told
>>10600877 Assange's extradition hearing delayed by lawyer's wife's COVID scare
>>10653978 Julian Assange extradition delayed by further tech, coronavirus issues
>>10664636 Assange defence questions why Obama didn't seek to prosecute him
>>10664658 Julian Assange, like Jeffrey Epstein, may not be safe in US prison
>>10679059 Julian Assange interrupts extradition hearing again
>>10691837 Julian Assange aimed for 'stringent redactions', extradition court hears
>>10611062 UK extradition hearing for Assange to resume Monday after negative COVID test
#9 - Part 17
Australian / Regional Resignations Bun
>>10122451 Labor Senator Penny Wong's chief of staff, Marcus Ganley 'quit after sex claim'
>>10143641 James Murdoch resigns from News Corporation board of directors
>>10176837 David Hutchinson resigns as Queensland LNP president
>>10176837 SANFL CEO Jake Parkinson announces resignation
>>10197874 iCare review brought forward as CEO John Nagle quits
>>10197874 AMP Australia boss Alex Wade exits over 'internal matter'
>>10220297 'Inappropriate photos' behind sudden exit of AMP executive Alex Wade
>>10398399 AMP chairman David Murray resigns, top exec Boe Pahari stands down
>>10491765 QBE CEO Pat Regan to depart following probe
>>10587369 Besieged icare chief and deputy, Michael Carapiet and Gavin Bell, to step down
>>10587369 Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham announces resignation
>>10601128 Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques resigns amid ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelter blast crisis
#10705070 at 2020-09-19 05:35:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition
#9 - Part 16
Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition Bun
>>10292284 Lawyers for Julian Assange say '11th hour' decision by US government to lodge new charges against him is 'astonishing and potentially abusive'
>>10368354 Crowdfund appeal launched for Julian Assange
>>10368361 Stella Moris: Join my fight to free Julian Assange and stop US extradition
>>10423178 Partner says Assange 'in a lot of pain'
>>10542765 Mother of Assange's two children tearfully warns of the WikiLeaks founder's fate as the US begins its Old Bailey extradition bid
>>10563657 Julian Assange's new friend Bob Carr fights his US extradition
>>10563697, >>10563701 Julian Assange 'a suicide risk', says defence
>>10575174 'This is nonsense': Julian Assange interjections earn stern warning
>>10586571 Trump is targeting Assange because he dislikes Obama, court told
>>10600877 Assange's extradition hearing delayed by lawyer's wife's COVID scare
>>10653978 Julian Assange extradition delayed by further tech, coronavirus issues
>>10664636 Assange defence questions why Obama didn't seek to prosecute him
>>10664658 Julian Assange, like Jeffrey Epstein, may not be safe in US prison
>>10679059 Julian Assange interrupts extradition hearing again
>>10691837 Julian Assange aimed for 'stringent redactions', extradition court hears
>>10611062 UK extradition hearing for Assange to resume Monday after negative COVID test
#9 - Part 17
Australian / Regional Resignations Bun
>>10122451 Labor Senator Penny Wong's chief of staff, Marcus Ganley 'quit after sex claim'
>>10143641 James Murdoch resigns from News Corporation board of directors
>>10176837 David Hutchinson resigns as Queensland LNP president
>>10176837 SANFL CEO Jake Parkinson announces resignation
>>10197874 iCare review brought forward as CEO John Nagle quits
>>10197874 AMP Australia boss Alex Wade exits over 'internal matter'
>>10220297 'Inappropriate photos' behind sudden exit of AMP executive Alex Wade
>>10398399 AMP chairman David Murray resigns, top exec Boe Pahari stands down
>>10491765 QBE CEO Pat Regan to depart following probe
>>10587369 Besieged icare chief and deputy, Michael Carapiet and Gavin Bell, to step down
>>10587369 Queensland Natural Resources and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham announces resignation
>>10601128 Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques resigns amid ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelter blast crisis
#10601128 at 2020-09-11 08:49:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition
Resignations in the news
Rio Tinto CEO, top executives resign amid cave blast crisis
Rio Tinto boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two senior executives will be replaced after an investor revolt forced the mining giant's board to escalate its response to the blasting of the ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelters.
Mr Jacques, Rio's iron ore division boss Chris Salisbury and corporate affairs boss Simone Niven will depart the company within six months, the board said, following a series of crisis meetings held this week.
In a statement issued on Friday morning, the board said Mr Jacques, 48, would stay as chief executive until the appointment of his successor or until March 31, whichever was earlier.
The decision comes after months of escalating pressure from Aboriginal groups, top shareholders and government leaders over Rio Tinto's decision to destroy the two culturally significant rock shelters in Western Australia's Pilbara region, which had evidence of continual human occupation tracing back at least 46,000 years.
Mr Jacques, Mr Salisbury and Ms Niven - whose department oversees community relations - were last month stripped of $7 million of their 2020 bonuses after a board-led review found they had to bear some responsibility.
Rio chairman Simon Thompson said at the time no one would be stood down over the matter, because the board had decided they were the best people to lead the critical reforms to heritage processes that were required.
However, the bonus cuts failed to satisfy many shareholders and Indigenous leaders who told board members that docking the pay of well-paid executives fell significantly short of true accountability for the destruction of such a significant site.
Mr Thompson said on Friday the dramatic escalation of penalties had been prompted by a series of "important stakeholders" voicing concerns about executive accountability for the failings identified.
"There were certainly some shareholders who felt strongly that the accountability was inappropriate and that this was an issue that needed to be addressed to rebuild trust," Mr Thompson told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
In order to enhance the board's focus and engagement in Australia, Simon McKeon, a non-executive director and former Australian of the Year for his philanthropic endeavours, would be appointed as Rio's senior independent director immediately.
Among the prominent investors to denounce the board's proposed financial penalties were AustralianSuper, HESTA, Unisuper and a group of 81 British pension funds, which made their demands for greater sanctions clear.
The National Native Title Council wrote to Mr Thompson describing the pay cuts as wholly inadequate and accusing the board of being "divorced from reality".
The blasting of the Juukan Gorge was legally sanctioned as part of a long-planned expansion of Rio's Brockman 4 iron ore mine, but it went against the wishes of the land's traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people, who said they were shocked and left devastated.
Although Rio Tinto claimed it believed it had the PKKP's consent until it was too late to stop the blast safely, the miner has issued public apologies and has acknowledged multiple failures in its communication with the traditional owners that could have prevented the debacle.
"What happened at Juukan was wrong," Mr Thompson said on Friday. "We are determined to ensure the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again at a Rio Tinto operation."
…..
Ancient artefacts unearthed at the Juukan Gorge shelters - including grinding and pounding stones, a 28,000-year-old marsupial bone sharpened into a tool and a 4000-year-old belt made of plaited human hair with DNA linking it directly to today's PKKP people - had placed the caves among the most significant archaeological research sites in Australia.
The loss of the site has highlighted the power imbalance between Australia's mining industry and traditional owners and raises questions now being considered by a federal parliamentary inquiry about the need for stronger legal protections for traditional owners to safeguard heritage sites on their ancestral land.
A spokeswoman for the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation said on Friday it had no comment to make on the executive resignations, but it would continue to work with Rio Tinto.
"Our focus continues to rest heavily on preserving Aboriginal heritage and advocating for wide-ranging changes to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again," she said. "We cannot and will not allow this type of devastation to occur ever again."
https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/rio-tinto-ceo-top-executives-resign-amid-cave-blast-crisis-20200910-p55uf8.html