Mining giant Rio Tinto has agreed to pay $28 million to a US court to end a fraud case in Mozambique. It was accused of hiding losses from its coal investment.

According to the specialized press, which cites the decision of the Manhattan federal court on the lawsuit brought by the SEC, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Rio Tinto will pay around 28 million dollars if Judge Analisa Torres agrees to the terms of the settlement.

Rio Tinto, quoted by DW, has also undertaken not to destroy the records and to comply with US stock market laws, as well as to hire an independent consultant to ensure that the losses from the operation in Mozambique are properly accounted for.

The company's former CEO Tom Albanese agreed to pay a fine of 45.7 thousand euros to end the process, with neither Rio Tinto nor the businessman admitting any wrongdoing.

At issue is the accusation that Tom Albanese and his financial director tried to hide the losses of the Mozambique operation, failing to inform investors of the losses the company had incurred over the past decade, which ultimately led to it being sold for far less than it claimed to be worth.

In October 2017, the SEC accused mining company Rio Tinto and two former executives of fraud for inflating the value of coal assets acquired for 3.7 billion dollars and sold a few years later for 50 million dollars.

The SEC's complaint, which was filed in Manhattan federal court in 2017, alleges that "Rio Tinto, its former CEO Thomas Albanese and its former CFO Guy Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record their assets," reads the summary of the SEC's indictment, available on the regulator's website.

The company ended up selling the mine for just 50 million dollars in 2014, after its director was removed from office following a revaluation of the company's assets.