SYDNEY- Payments made by miners Allied Gold and St Barbara to a Solomon Islands’ government official are being investigated by the Australian Federal Police.
Allied Gold, which was acquired by Perth-based St Barbara in 2012 allegedly provided benefits to the Solomon Islands’ outgoing opposition leader, Matthew Wale from 2011.
St Barbara then continued to pay the benefits until earlier this year, according to a report in the Solomon Star newspaper on Friday.
St Barbara said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange late on Friday that through its internal mechanisms it became aware of the payments and had reported the issue to authorities including the AFP, the UK Serious Fraud Office and the Solomon Islands Attorney General.
The company said it disclosed the matter to the AFP on July 30.
