Four employees of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto were charged with bribery and stealing trade secrets, a court statement said yesterday.

The No 1 branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate laid the charges against Australian citizen Stern Hu, the former head of Rio Tinto's Shanghai office, and three local employees, Wang Yong, Ge Minqiang and Liu Caikui.

A statement from the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court said prosecutors accused the four of "taking advantage of their position to seek profit for others, and asking for, or illegally accepting, huge amounts of money from Chinese steel enterprises."