Data found stored on Hu’s personal laptop allegedly contained 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 legitimately. Hu was accused of having obtained such information through bribery and other illegal means for massive corporate and personal benefits.

On 5 July 2009, Hu and three Chinese colleagues were detained by the Chinese government. On 29 March 2010, Hu was sentenced to ten years’ jail after pleading guilty to stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes.

Stern Hu (Chinese: 胡士泰 ; pinyin: Hú Shìtài ; born 1963 in Tianjin) is an Australian businessman jailed in China after pleading guilty to stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes. Hu was formerly an executive of Rio Tinto mining group in Shanghai, having graduated from Peking University before obtaining Australian citizenship in 1994.