The company said it disclosed the matter to the AFP on July 30 and that it continued to cooperate with the AFP's investigation. <\/p>\n
Payments made by miners Allied Goldand St Barbarato a Solomon Islands' government official are being investigated by the Australian Federal Police. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
St Barbara then continued to pay the benefits until earlier this year, according to a report in the Solomon Star newspaper on Friday. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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The company said it disclosed the matter to the AFP on July 30 and that it continued to cooperate with the AFP's investigation. St Barbara declined to comment further on the issue at this time. Documents compiled by St Barbara's legal counsel and reportedly obtained by the Solomon Star allegedly reveal that numerous executives from both Allied and St Barbara maintained relationships with Mr Wale that were of mutual benefit. <\/p>\n
The companies allegedly paid for Mr Wale's children to attend the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane, with annual fees reportedly as much as $113,000. <\/p>\n
They also allegedly arranged employment for a relative of Mr Wale's and other smaller benefits, including a $13,500 payment to Mr Wale for \"office set up expenses\". <\/p>\n
Allied Gold was reported to have initially benefited from the arrangement, allegedly gaining a letter confirming the legality of blasting at its Gold Ridge mine, now owned by St Barbara, the issuance of a special prospecting license for a tenement, and the removal of certain travel restrictions. <\/p>\n
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Solomon Islands payments under investigation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The company said it disclosed the matter to the AFP on July 30 and that it continued to cooperate with the AFP's investigation. Continue reading