SEC Sues Vale SA

In January 2019, the Brumadinho dam in Brazil collapsed, sending a mudflow that killed 270 people. The dam was built by Vale SA to hold tailings from a copper mine. Now, the SEC is suing Vale SA, stating that the company made false claims about the safety of the dam, obtained fraudulent stability certificates, and regularly misled investors through its ESG statements. The SEC does not require that companies file ESG statements, but the Climate and ESG Task Force of the SEC is tasked with identifying false or misleading claims. In other words, consistent with its other directives, the SEC is concerned about the truthfulness of statements and disclosures made by a company.