Long-running dispute ends as ASIC drops claims against Rio Tinto's former executives and company agrees fine
IN BRIEF
- In a judgment delivered on
7 March 2022 , and following the admission made by Rio Tinto,Justice Yates of theFederal Court of Australia declared that Rio Tinto had contravened its continuous disclosure obligations by failing to disclose that itsMozambique coal assets were no longer economically viable as long-life, large-scale, "Tier 1" coking coal resources from lateDecember 2012 tomid-January 2013 . -
Yates J ordered that Rio Tinto pay the pecuniary penalty of
$750,000 agreed with ASIC, noting the maximum penalty for a single breach of the continuous disclosure provisions at the time was$1 million (but is now significantly larger in circumstances where the entity has knowledge that, or is reckless or negligent with respect to whether, information is materially price sensitive). - As part of the settlement, the proceedings against the former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Rio Tinto were dismissed.
-
The settlement follows the
$100,000 penalty paid by Rio Tinto to ASIC in 2008 in relation to an infringement notice served by ASIC alleging Rio Tinto had failed to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations in relation to its acquisition ofAlcan Inc. -
The matter is an example of ASIC's continued willingness to prosecute alleged breaches of continuous disclosure obligations, noting the recent proceedings by ASIC against
Austal Limited andGetSwift Limited .
BACKGROUND
The facts and admissions that had been agreed between the parties in relation to the matter are summarised below.
In 2011, Rio Tinto acquired
Rio Tinto's annual report for the year ending
"The Moatize basin in
Rio Tinto's annual review for the same period also noted that:
"(a) We are well placed to capitalise on our leadership position. Our portfolio includes some of the world's best assets - from our world-class iron ore operations in
(b) During 2011 we completed the acquisition of Riversdale, which has now been renamed Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique. This provides a substantial Tier 1 coking coal development pipeline in the emerging
(c) We continue to grow our world class portfolio of energy assets through the development of the recently acquired Hathor and Riversdale projects and increasing production at existing operations;
(d) Our strategic investment in the highly prospective
(e) Through the development of
In addition, from
- the company's coal projects in the
Moatize Basin were highly prospective; - there was an opportunity to grow and develop a world class basin of high quality coking coal through the relevant projects and tenements; and
- the relevant projects and tenements were long-life Tier 1 coking coal resources.
In
REASONS FOR THE COURT'S JUDGMENT
Continuous disclosure contravention
Rio Tinto admitted (and the Court was satisfied on the basis of the agreed facts), that Rio Tinto contravened its continuous disclosure obligations by failing to disclose the adverse findings and conclusions regarding the company's
In particular, from
- there was a reduction in expected recoverable and mineable volumes of coking coal, or reduced degree of confidence in the potential economic extraction of the coal deposits from the relevant projects and tenements;
- the quality and quantity of the relevant coal resources was not as previously expected;
- the coal projects were not highly prospective;
- the relevant projects and tenements did not provide an opportunity to grow and develop a world class basin of high quality coking coal; and
- the relevant projects and tenements were no longer economically viable as long-life, large-scale, Tier 1 coking coal resources.
It was agreed by the parties that this information was not generally available for the purpose of section 676 of the Corporations Act but, if it had been, was information that a reasonable person would have expected, to have a material effect on the price or value of Rio Tinto's securities. It was also agreed that the contravention was "serious" for the purpose of the Corporations Act.
The Court pointed to the agreed facts that:
- the internal report was provided to Rio Tinto's executive officers;
- its contravention occurred over a period of almost a month; and
-
during the period in which Rio Tinto was required, but failed, to notify ASX of the relevant information, approximately 31 million shares (with a total value of approximately
$2 billion ) were traded on the ASX.
Interestingly, the Court did not discuss the effect of the
Pecuniary penalty
ASIC and Rio Tinto agreed that Rio Tinto would pay a pecuniary penalty of
The Court noted the purpose of a civil penalty in promoting the public interest in statutory compliance, that the contravention was "serious" for the purpose for the Corporations Act, and other relevant factors submitted by the parties being:
- Rio Tinto's standing as a mining and metals company;
- Rio Tinto's market capitalisation;
- the fact that the contravention occurred over almost a month and that during the period in which the contravention occurred a substantial number of shares were traded; and
- that the internal report was received by executive officers of Rio Tinto.
ASIC also agreed there were a number of mitigating factors, including that the contravention was not deliberate or reckless, did not arise out of a failure to exercise due care and skill and that no officer or employee of Rio Tinto knowingly, wilfully, fraudulently or dishonestly contravened any legal obligation (in this regard, see below regarding the 2019 changes to the continuous disclosure regime in the Corporations Act). It was further noted that Rio Tinto had not previously been found to have breached its continuous disclosure obligations.
It was noted that the parties had agreed that Rio Tinto had assessed the implications of the internal report carefully, but did not appreciate that it was necessary to notify ASX of the information (which was submitted to be an inadvertent error, noting the internal processes in place to ensure Rio Tinto complied with its continuous disclosure obligations).
In light of these factors, Yates J was satisfied that the
COMMENTARY
The matter is an example of ASIC's continued willingness to prosecute alleged breaches of continuous disclosure obligations, noting significant market misconduct remains an enforcement priority area for ASIC.
For example, in 2021, ASIC commenced proceedings against
The pecuniary penalty imposed on Rio Tinto in this matter was only
It is important to note, however, that following changes made to the Corporations Act, if an entity knows, or is reckless or negligent with respect to whether, information would, if it were generally available, be materially price sensitive, the maximum pecuniary penalty for companies for a breach of continuous disclosure obligations is significantly larger (although civil penalty liability for entities no longer exists where the requisite knowledge, recklessness or negligence does not exist). In particular, in such circumstances, a company will be liable for up to the greater of currently
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
Mr
Exchange House
EC2A 2HS
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