Stern Hu

Stern Hu (Chinese: 胡士泰; pinyin: Hú Shìtài; born 1963, in Tianjin) is an Australian businessman of Chinese origin. He was formerly an executive of Rio Tinto mining group in Shanghai, China prior to his trial. He graduated from Peking University before obtaining Australian citizenship in 1994.

Arrest in China

Hu was detained on 5 July 2009 with three other Chinese colleagues by the Chinese government. After pleading guilty, on 29 March 2010 he was sentenced to 10 years' jail by a Chinese court for stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes.

The issue has made a heavy impact in both China and Australia, making front-page appearances in most major media across the two nations. Information found stored on Hu’s personal laptop, seized by investigators, allegedly contains confidential business information of several dozen major business partners of Rio Tinto, including storage levels and sales plans, deemed much too specific and precise to have been acquired through legal means, but rather through bribery, where access to such information is limited even to employees within these companies. Hu is thus accused of having obtained such information through bribery and other illegal means, for massive corporate and personal benefits.