Rio Tinto avoided about $700m in taxes, Dutch group Somo charges
London — Rio Tinto has been accused by a Dutch nonprofit group of avoiding about $700m in taxes related to its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, in Mongolia. The company has denied the allegations. Rio and its Canadian subsidiary, Turquoise Hill Resources, used so-called mailbox companies in Luxembourg and the Netherlands to fund the development of the mine in Mongolia, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations said in a report on Wednesday. The company avoided $470m in Canadian taxes through the vehicles and $230m in Mongolian taxes, the group known as Somo said. "The flawed Somo report contains a number of unsubstantiated and incorrect allegations regarding tax," London-based Rio said in an e-mailed statement. Oyu Tolgoi "is one of Mongolia’s largest taxpayers and is paying its fair share of tax", having paid more than $1.8bn in taxes and royalties between 2010 and 2017, the company said.
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