Former Rio Tinto CFO Wins Complete Dismissal of SEC Suit

Paul, Weiss secured a complete defense victory for former Rio Tinto CFO Guy Elliott in a long-running suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Elliott denied the allegations from the outset, and the dismissal of the suit ends eight years of litigation.

In October 2017, the SEC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Rio Tinto, former Rio Tinto CEO Tom Albanese and Mr. Elliott, alleging fraud and accounting violations arising out of Rio Tinto’s acquisition and subsequent impairment of coal mining assets in Mozambique. On January 9, in a complete vindication for our client, the SEC filed a stipulation dismissing the remaining claims against Mr. Elliott with prejudice, without any settlement. Most of the claims against Mr. Elliott had previously been dismissed on motion practice, with the dismissal affirmed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022.

The Paul, Weiss team includes litigation partners Ted Wells, Geoffrey Chepiga and Kannon Shanmugam, of counsel Walter Ricciardi and associate Sarah Prostko.