力拓案今日宣判 四被告或判有期徒刑
【英文原文】
Shanghai Court to Issue Rio Tinto Verdicts
SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--A Shanghai court is expected to issue verdicts for Australian national Stern Hu and three other Rio Tinto Ltd. executives on charges of commercial spying and bribe-taking, with at least some of the men likely to be given jail sentences following their admission that they took payments totaling $11 million from Chinese steelmakers.
The verdict and sentencing in the closely watched Rio Tinto trial, which started a week ago, was due at midafternoon on Monday from a three-judge panel at Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.
Few court cases in China end in acquittal, and guilty verdicts on some counts are widely anticipated, including against Mr. Hu. Australia's consul-general in Shanghai, who witnessed parts of the case, said last week that Mr. Hu admitted 'some truth' to charges he accepted two bribes that prosecutors valued at $935,000--apparently from Chinese steel mills to ensure their access to iron ore.
Less is known about Shanghai prosecutors' allegations that Mr. Hu and his three subordinates, all of whom are Chinese nationals, obtained commercial secrets from China's steel industry. Some of the executives are known to have pleaded not guilty on these counts but that part of the trial has been closed and details are secret. Yet, the same court on Monday has scheduled a verdict on a case alleging that Tan Yixin, a former official of Beijing-based steelmaker Shougang Group who state media reports say was detained days after the Rio Tinto executives were taken by authorities, and others infringed on commercial secrets.
The Rio Tinto case has huge ramifications for multinationals doing business in China. While executives in the country increasingly say last week's admissions suggest there may have been problems with the way Rio Tinto was selling iron ore in China, many remain disturbed by the lack of transparency in the way the executives were detained and charged last year.
The detention of the four followed rancor between top Chinese officials and iron-ore traders. In the months since, Rio Tinto, one of the most profitable multinationals operating in China, has upgraded its management structure in China and pursued deals that potentially give Chinese companies more access to the iron ore they need.
Rio Tinto has declined in recent months to reiterate initial denials that its China team had done anything wrong.
【中文譯文】
力拓案今日宣判 四被告或判有期徒刑
預計上海一家法院將宣判澳大利亞公民胡士泰及力拓股份有限公司(Rio Tinto Ltd.)其餘三名經理人涉嫌竊取商業祕密和收受賄賂一案。至少其中部分人有可能被判處有期徒刑；此前他們一共承認接受了中國鋼鐵企業支付的1,100萬美元。
陶武平走進上海第一中級人民法院，他是力拓案其中一被告的辯護律師力拓案一週前開庭，受到密切關注。按計劃，上海第一中級人民法院一個由三名法官組成的合議庭將在週一下午宣佈罪名和判決。
中國很少有案件被宣判無罪，對於某些指控，人們普遍預計會被判成立，這包括針對胡士泰的指控。澳大利亞駐上海總領事上週旁聽該案部分庭審後表示，胡士泰對有關他收受兩起賄賂的指控承認了“部分事實”。檢方估計，這兩筆賄賂共計93.5萬美元，明顯地是來自於中國的鋼鐵公司，目的是保證它們能夠拿到鐵礦石。
上海檢方還指控胡士泰及其三位中國籍下屬竊取了中國鋼鐵行業的商業祕密。這部分指控的情況外界所知較少。據悉，部分人否認這方面有罪，但有關商業祕密的庭審爲閉門進行，細節處在保密之中。不過按既定安排，週一上海一中院還將宣判首鋼集團前官員譚以新等人涉嫌侵犯商業祕密的案件；據官方媒體報道，譚以新是在有關部門拘捕了力拓四位管理人員過後數日被拘捕的。
力拓案引起了在華經商的跨國企業的巨大反響。在華企業經理人越來越認爲，上週部分被告認罪，說明力拓在中國銷售鐵礦石的方式可能是有問題的。但去年四人被拘押和起訴的過程缺乏透明性，仍然讓很多人如芒在背。
四人被拘之前，中國高層官員與鐵礦石交易商已經結下怨隙。在過後的幾個月，作爲在華跨國企業中最掙錢之一的力拓提升了它在中國的管理架構，所做的交易可能也會讓中國企業更有機會拿到它們需要的鐵礦石。
近幾個月，力拓沒再重複當初的表述，說它的中國團隊沒有任何過錯。
