Investigative pieces into company accounting knock share prices of Peru mining firms

Reuters had a two-part series of agenda-setting articles that uncovered news that Peru’s tax agency was investigating mining companies, the country’s traditional economic backbone, for fraud. The stories, March 26 and 31, were picked up by leading newspapers in Peru and forced the president of the country’s mining chamber to defend its members, saying they were fully complying with accounting rules — even though union leaders say profits were deliberately underreported to cut the amount of money owed to workers under profit-sharing laws. The first story focused on Peruvian miner Buenaventura, which admitted to being under investigation. Buenaventura’s share price fell by as much as 15 percent as angry workers organized strikes to demand compensation for the fraud. The follow up story, which revealed that global mining giant Barrick was being audited by Peru’s tax agency even as it said its books were correct, also caused a stir in Peru as the head of the mining chamber urged the tax agency to name names or clear the air on the contentious issue. Both stories were extensively sourced, well-researched, balanced and hard-hitting.