At least three law firms have announced plans to pursue federal class-action lawsuits against Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan. The firms are looking for shareholders to join the lawsuits that allege possible breaches of fiduciary duties by officers and directors.
One complaint alleges the former CEO of Freeport’s Indonesian division had discussed with senior officials in the Indonesian government bribing Indonesian government officials in return for an extension of Freeport’s right to operate in the country. The suit claims that when the allegations became public Freeport’s stock dropped significantly.
In an email to KJZZ, Freeport-McMoRan's Director of External Communications Eric Kinneberg wrote "Freeport-McMoRan and its Indonesian affiliate PTFI have and maintain an anti-corruption program that is designed to prevent, detect and remediate FCPA/anti-corruption risks and to comply with applicable laws. We also have disclosure policies that are designed to promote compliance with our disclosure obligations. We have no comment on the recently filed litigation at this time."
