UK's SFO drops probes into Kazakh miner ENRC, Rio Tinto

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped a decade-long criminal investigation into Kazakh miner ENRC and a separate probe into Australian-British miner Rio Tinto, according to updates on its website on Thursday.

Former FTSE 100 company ENRC had been under investigation since 2013 in relation to the suspected payment of bribes to secure access to mining contracts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2009 and 2012.

The SFO on Thursday updated a page on its website relating to its ENRC probe, stating that it had closed its investigation.

"In August 2023, following our latest review of the investigation, we concluded that we have insufficient admissible evidence to prosecute, and closed the case," the page said.

An SFO spokesperson declined to comment on the development. An ENRC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Also on Thursday, the SFO said it had dropped an investigation into suspected corruption by Rio Tinto in the Republic of Guinea.

The SFO's website said the agency had "concluded that it is not in the public interest to proceed with a prosecution in the UK and closed our case".

"The Australian Federal Police maintains a live investigation into this matter and we continue to support their ongoing case," it added.

Rio Tinto did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The decision to drop the two investigations comes shortly before Nick Ephgrave, the former assistant commissioner at London's police force, replaces current SFO director Lisa Osofsky in September.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)