Ex-Vale CEO and others charged with homicide for dam disaster in Brazil

State prosecutors in Brazil have charged Vale’s former chief executive, Fabio Schvartsman, with homicide after the catastrophic tailings dam disaster last January at the company’s Feijao iron ore mine in Minas Gerais killed more than 250 people. Schvartsman left his position at the company in March 2019. Homicide charges also have been levelled against other former employees, while state prosecutors have charged Vale, its German contractor TUV SUD, and 15 individuals with environmental crimes, Bloomberg reported. Vale responded to the charges in a statement, saying it “believes the accusations of fraud are perplexing” and that “it is important to note that other authorities are investigating the case and, at this point, it is premature to claim there was conscious assumption of risk to cause a deliberate breach of the dam.” Continue reading at The Northern Miner.