BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company by market capitalization. Photo: APPhnom Penh
Thursday, 27 May 2010
A year after it pulled out of Cambodia, the Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has found itself under a US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation for allegations related to bribery in a foreign country.
Officials have not said which country the alleged corruption took place in, but the company has said it gave $2.5 million to the government here in exchange for mining exploration rights, making Cambodia among the likely countries under the scope of the investigation.
It is not uncommon for companies to pay bonuses for concessions here, but what happened to that money remains unknown, with government and company officials sending conflicting statements and no apparent accounting for the funds.
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