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Ex-Vale CEO under probe for potentially misleading statements after dam breach

Brazilian prosecutors are probing potentially misleading statements made by former Vale SA Fabio Schvartsman as part of a wider investigation over the tailings dam breach at the Feijao iron ore mine, Reuters reported Sept. 17, citing a source close to the investigation.

Days following the disaster in late January, Schvartsman claimed the iron ore miner decommissioned nine upstream dams after a similar incident at the Samarco mine in 2015, with the decommissioning of 10 dams built in the same method to be conducted over the next few years.

However, Eduardo Leão, a director of the Brazilian mining regulator ANM, and another expert said that the dams were smaller structures and not the dangerous upstream type, according to the report.

Vale said in a statement that the original data cited by Schvartsman were based on available information from its ferrous metals division, with the revised data later sent to news outlets covering the developments.

The investigation is one of a series of probes and lawsuits over the disaster, on top of consequences over the 2015 dam disintegration at the Samarco joint venture with BHP Group.

In August, Brazilian securities regulator CVM launched a fresh investigation into executives of Vale over whether they breached their fiduciary duties related to the Feijao disaster. This is on top of a prior probe by the regulator in Feburary to look into any violations of securities laws the miner made over the incident.