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Rio Tinto wants protective order on documents in SEC case over Mozambique deal

Rio Tinto wants its "trade secrets" to be kept away from the public eye during the investigation into fraud allegations filed by the U.S. SEC related to the Riversdale coal mine acquisition, The Australian Financial Review reported March 6.

In October 2017, the SEC filed a civil complaint against the company, as well as former CEO Thomas Albanese and former CFO Guy Elliott, in the District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that fraud was committed by not accurately disclosing the value of coal assets in Mozambique and not impairing the assets in its yearly accounts released in February 2012 or its interim results disclosed in August 2012.

The company's lawyers filed a request for a "protective order" in a New York court in a bid to stop the disclosure of its documents submitted as part of the case. The request was also signed by SEC's lawyers.

"There is good cause for a protective order to protect those individuals and entities from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden and expense," the request noted.

Recently, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission started legal proceedings against Rio Tinto, and its former CEO Thomas Albanese and former CFO Guy Elliott, saying that the parties made misleading or deceptive statements regarding the Riversdale acquisition, later named Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique.