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SEC Drops Fraud Case Against Ex-Rio Tinto CFO
10 Jan
Summary
- SEC dismissed its civil fraud case against former Rio Tinto CFO Guy Elliott.
- Rio Tinto previously paid $28 million civil fine over Mozambique coal investment.
- The case involved allegations of deceiving investors about asset valuations.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dismissed its civil fraud lawsuit against former Rio Tinto Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott. This decision, filed in a Manhattan federal court on January 9, 2026, brings an end to a protracted legal dispute that began over eight years ago. The SEC stated the dismissal was made in its discretion, without addressing the merits of its claims.
In October 2017, the SEC had accused the mining giant of deceiving investors regarding the value of Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique. The company had acquired these assets in 2011 for $3.7 billion, later raising over $5.5 billion from U.S. investors by allegedly overvaluing them. An internal assessment had reportedly shown the assets were worth negative $680 million.
Rio Tinto ultimately took a more than $3 billion writedown for the Mozambique operations in 2013 and sold the assets for $50 million the following year. In 2023, Rio Tinto agreed to a $28 million civil fine, and former CEO Tom Albanese accepted a $50,000 fine, to resolve related charges.
