GLOBAL mining giant BHP Billiton is under investigation by US and Australian law enforcement for potential violations of anti-corruption laws via its sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The US Justice Department and Australian Federal Police are scrutinizing BHP Billiton's Olympic sponsorship and hospitality to determine whether Chinese government officials or executives at state-owned companies received inducements that could have resulted in BHP obtaining a business advantage, The Australian Financial Review newspaper reported yesterday.
The Anglo-Australian company said it is cooperating with the investigations.
"We believe our Olympic activities complied with all applicable law," the world's biggest miner said in a statement.
Between 2000 and 2008, the company spent millions of dollars on its Olympics sponsorship and hospitality. BHP Billiton was classified as an official games sponsor and provided the metals to make the 6,000 gold, silver and bronze medals won at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. China's huge industrial demand for raw materials has made the country BHP Billiton's biggest market.
The newspaper said much of the investigation will turn on how law enforcement authorities view officials from China's state-owned steel and aluminum companies in relation to foreign bribery laws. If these Chinese officials are classed as serving government officials, then the company's provision of hotel rooms, meals and entertainment could be deemed illegal inducements.
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