The former ruler of Rio Tinto, Stern Hu, released from prison in China

Former Rio Tinto leader, Stern Hu, reunited with his family in Shanghai after serving a nine-year prison sentence in China on corruption charges, closing a bleak chapter of Australia's tumultuous relationship with its main trading partner. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that Mr. Hu, an Australian citizen, had been released. According to sources, the prison authorities arranged for the Australian citizen to meet his family soon after leaving Qingpu Prison in Shanghai, where he served nine years of detention

M. Hu was arrested in July 2009 and sentenced to 10 years in prison in March. 2010 and fined 1 million yuan. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Hu complied with the prison rules and his initial sentence had been reduced.

He was released in secret, far from the eyes of TV crews and photographers. The man whose detention in 2009 ignited tensions between Beijing and Canberra and sparked alarm in the business world about the risks of doing business in China.

M. Hu is expected to return to Australia next week after spending time with his family in China. He had asked permission to visit his elderly relatives in Tianjin, northern China, before leaving the country. Mr. Hu and his wife Zhu Xiaoli, who is in Shanghai, are Australian citizens.

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It is believed that the former Rio employee was released on Wednesday, although it was not seen by any of the media camped outside. main doors since sunrise. The prison authorities were anxious to avoid publicity and would have facilitated his departure and arrangements to meet his family, including his wife, in Shanghai.

A friend of one of Mr. Hu's former colleagues in Rio Tinto, who was waiting outside the prison, said that he expected that the Australian citizen be released around 9am.

The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that two of Rio Tinto's other former employees, who had been imprisoned but had since been released, were considering a lawsuit against the global miner. It is believed that they are in contact with Mr. Hu's family and hope to meet him on his release.

Peter Humphrey, a British company investigator who spent nine months with Mr. Hu at Qingpu Prison, said last week Financial Review that the former employee of Rio had "kept her head in prison" but was suffering from heart problems and her hair became white in captivity

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) declined to comment on Wednesday, citing "confidentiality obligations". It comes at a difficult time for the federal government, which wants to avoid further offending China after the parliament last week pbaded laws on foreign interference and badesses whether the Chinese telephone operator Huawei can bid for a sensitive network 5G

Robbie Ge Minqiang and Jeff Liu Caikui, who were also jailed for corruption, reportedly have contact with Hu's family. Another, Wang Yong, must be released in 2021. It is believed that they are not satisfied with the way they were treated by Rio Tinto.

It is understood that Rio is not aware of any potential actions on the part of the two former employees. 19659020] Hu and his three colleagues were arrested at the height of the so-called "iron ore war" which marked a low point for Sino-Australian relations.

His arrest was criticized for his withdrawal from a joint venture Chinese company Chinalco

It was suggested at the time that the miners agreed to artificially maintain the price of the ore of iron.

Rio fired Mr. Hu and the other three employees for their "deplorable" bribes. Mr. Hu was found guilty at a three-day trial in Shanghai in 2010. Mr. Hu allegedly pleaded guilty to the charges that he would be deported immediately after the conviction.

Amid Cal For clemency, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott raised his case at a meeting in 2014 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hu has had his prison sentence cut twice since his conviction.