Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, FRAUD AND MANIPULATION—S.D.N.Y.: SEC dismisses charges against former Rio Tinto CFO, (Jan 12, 2026)

By John Filar Atwood

Rio Tinto and its former chief executive officer each paid fines in connection with complaint, which was originally filed in October 2017.

The SEC announced that it has dismissed with prejudice a civil action against former Rio Tinto chief financial officer Guy Elliott related to a 2017 complaint that he was involved in Rio Tinto’s fraudulent overvaluation of certain coal assets. In 2023, Rio Tinto paid $28 million to settle the case, and former CEO Thomas Albanese paid a $50,000 civil penalty, with neither party admitting to the allegations (SEC v. Elliott, No. 1:17-cv-07994 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 9, 2026)).

Rio Tinto, among the world's largest metals and mining corporations, Albanese, and Elliott were charged in 2017 in connection with efforts to conceal billions in losses from the company’s failed coal business in Mozambique. The SEC alleged that they inflated the value of Mozambique coal assets acquired for $3.7 billion and sold a few years later for $50 million.

The assets were purchased in 2011under the assumption that Rio Tinto could profitably mine, transport, and sell more than 40 million tons of coal per year by barging most of the coal down the Zambezi River. In reality, there was less coal and it was of a lower quality than assumed. In addition, the Mozambique government would not allow Rio Tinto to barge coal down the river.

After realizing that it could only transport and sell about five percent of the coal, the SEC claimed that Rio Tinto, Albanese, and Elliott took steps to conceal the adverse developments by allowing Rio Tinto to release misleading financial statements days before a series of U.S. debt offerings.

The SEC alleged that Rio Tinto, Albanese, and Elliott failed to follow accounting standards and company policies to accurately value and record its assets. Instead, as the project suffered setbacks and the value of the coal assets declined, the SEC claimed they tried to hide or delay disclosure of the adverse developments from the board, audit committee, independent auditors, and investors.

The SEC said that the dismissal of the charges against Elliott was based on the facts and circumstances of the case and does not reflect the Commission’s position on any other action.

The case is No. 1:17-cv-07994.

Attorneys: Emily True Parise for the SEC. Theodore Von Wells, Jr. (Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP) for Guy Robert Elliott.

Companies: Rio Tinto plc

LitigationEnforcement: CorporateFinance FraudManipulation