BHP Billiton rejected on Friday criminal charges filed by Brazil’s Ministerio Publico Federal (MPF), a body of public prosecutors, at a local court in the state of Minas Gerais.
One of Samarco’s owners along with Vale, BHP Billiton said it is yet to receive the formal notification about the charges.
“BHP Billiton rejects outright the charges against the company and the affected individuals,” it said on Friday, adding it will “defend the charges against the company, and fully support each of the affected individuals in their defense of the charges against them.”
The public prosecutors announced late at night they filed criminal charges, including qualified homicide, against 21 executives related to the Mariana disaster, which killed 19 people in November last year.
Executives charged include current and former officials at both Vale and BHP Billiton as well as from pellets producer Samarco, including former Samarco CEO Ricardo Vescovi, Vale’s current iron ore director Peter Poppinga, and five Vale and BHP officials who sat on Samarco’s board in recent years.