Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO) executive Stern Hu and his three Chinese colleagues are expected to go on trial in Shanghai next week.
The trail will be conducted in a closed session with Australian consular officials told they’re not allowed to attend the proceedings. But Australian officials have asked that the decision be reconsidered.
Hu and the three colleagues all face charges of receiving bribes and infringing commercial secrets.
They’ve been held in a Shanghai detention centre without seeing their families since July 5th of last year.
The trial will begin on March 22nd – coinciding with a visit to Beijing by Rio boss Tom Albanese, who’ll be attending the China Development Forum.
It is widely anticipated that he will use the trip to announce a joint-venture agreement with China’s Chinalco.
Rio Tinto’s 2009 net profit was $5.4 billion.
