Rio Tinto settles with Australian watchdog on Mozambique disclosure breach

Rio Tinto (RIO) (RIO) has agreed to pay a small penalty for overstating its Mozambique coal reserves in 2012 in return for the Australian corporate watchdog dropping charges against its top two executives at the time, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) said on Monday.

The settlement of A$750,000 ($538,200) for a single breach of continuous disclosure obligations remains subject to approval by a Federal Court judge, an ASIC spokesperson said.

Rio Tinto confirmed a prospective settlement had been reached but declined to confirm the agreed penalty.