China claims Rio overcharged by $102bn

10th Aug 2009 12:44

China ramped up its row with Rio Tinto's over alleged spying by its employees by another notch as it accused the miner of overcharging its iron mills by over $100bn over the past six years.The allegations were published by the National Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, which claimed Rio Tinto had spied on Chinese steel mills for six years, resulting in overpayments totalling $102bn.The accusations follow the detention a month ago of four Rio Tinto employees, including Australian Stern Hu, on suspicion of stealing state secrets. Rio Tinto insists that the four have done nothing wrong, but they are still being detained and have not been charged.It made no comment on the latest allegations, but Australian diplomats said there was nothing new in them."The allegations referred to on the National Secrets Protection Bureau Web site are not new," the Australian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The government has always said the Stern Hu case was complex and involved serious allegations. The government has urged the Chinese authorities to deal with his case expeditiously," it added.