Publication : Press Release

Today it was announced that BHP Billiton is under investigation for potential anti-graft violations by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The country in which the alleged activities took place has not been named, but the investigation does not involve the company’s business in China. Global Witness has the following statement regarding the company’s activities in Cambodia: In 2009, Global Witness published the report Country for Sale which exposed extensive governance failures in Cambodia’s emerging extractive sectors. One of the cases covered was a payment made by BHP Billiton to the Cambodian government in exchange for rights to explore a 100,000 ha bauxite concession in the northeast of the country. The concession was a joint venture with Mitsubishi. The companies reportedly decided to pull out of the project in 2009 because they did not find bauxite in sufficient quantities to justify extraction.

Information Source : Global Witness Statement on BHP Billiton Engagement in Cambodia

• Global Witness