Vale’s Four-Year Dam Disaster Saga to Get Turn in Criminal Court

Four years after a Vale SA mining disaster in southeast Brazil killed 270 people, the country’s courts are still trying to determine criminal responsibility.

The legal process is inching forward, with a Brazilian federal court accepting criminal charges Monday against Vale and former chief executive officer, Fabio Schvartsman, as well as German safety auditing firm Tüv Süd and 15 other company employees. The court’s decision to accept charges filed by the federal prosecutors’ office turns the companies and individuals into defendants and initiates a criminal case.

The case is tied to the collapse of a tailings dam at a ...