CHINA'S pursuit of four Rio Tinto workers accused of stealing industrial secrets stepped up a gear today when Chinese police handed the case to prosecutors in Shanghai.
Australian Stern Hu, an executive at the mining giant, and three Chinese colleagues have been in custody in China since July over allegations of illegally obtaining commercial secrets.
Zenith Replica Watches The decision to pass the case on to prosecutors increases the likelihood that the four will face jail and fuels fears among foreign companies about doing business in China.
A spokesman for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs Cartier Replica Watches and Trade said: "The case is now in the hands of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, who will decide whether it should be brought to trial. We are not in a position to say how long this phase of the case will take and are not prepared to speculate about the outcome.
"Details of the actual charges are not likely to be known until the prosecutors have made their decision on whether the case should proceed to trial."
Rio insists the four did nothing wrong. The arrest has cast a postcard printing shadow over already contentious iron ore negotiations between China and Australian miners Rio and BHP Billiton.
Australia exported $15 billion worth of iron ore to China in 2008, or 41% of China's iron ore imports.
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