Vale to Pay $55.9 Million to Settle SEC Charges Over 2019 Dam Collapse

By Sabela Ojea

Vale S.A. has agreed to pay the Securities and Exchanges Commission $55.9 million to settle charges related to the company's allegedly false and misleading disclosures about the safety of its dams prior to a collapse in Brazil.

The charges were brought against the Brazilian mining company and iron ore producer by the SEC last April after a dam collapse killed 270 people on Jan. 25, 2019.

The settlement requires Vale to pay a civil penalty of $25 million and a disgorgement and pre-judgment interest of $30.9 million, the SEC said.

"The SEC's complaint alleged that, for years, the dam did not meet internationally-recognized safety standards even as Vale's public sustainability reports assured investors that all of its dams were certified as stable," the SEC said.

The terms of the settlement still have to be approved by the by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Write to Sabela Ojea at [e-mail]; @sabelaojeaguix

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2023 19:31 ET (23:31 GMT)

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