BHP bosses warned they face possible criminal charges if selling mining giant overseas

BOSSES of mining giant BHP Billiton have been warned by the Treasurer that they face possible criminal charges if they sell out to greedy New York financiers stalking the Big Australian.

BHP Billiton bosses have been warned by Treasurer Scott Morrison that they face possible criminal charges if they sell out to greedy New York financiers.

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BOSSES of mining giant BHP Billiton have been warned by the Treasurer that they face possible criminal charges if they sell out to greedy New York financiers stalking the Big Australian.

Scott Morrison has issued a blunt warning to a US-based hedge fund, saying it is “unthinkable” that the Turnbull Government would allow the multi-billion-dollar mining giant to head offshore.

The Treasurer on Wednesday night warned directors that BHP Billiton would be committing a criminal offence if it sold out. And they could be held personally liable if they backed a plan from Elliott ­Associates to remove the company from the Australian Stock Exchange.

More than half a million Australians, particularly “mum and dad” investors, own shares in BHP Billiton which in the last 10 years paid $65 billion in taxes, royalties and other payments to Australian governments.

A move overseas would blow a giant hole in government revenue and plunge Aussie shareholders into uncertainty.

Under conditions imposed by Treasurer Peter Costello in 2001 when the Australian miner BHP merged with the UK miner Billiton, its assets must be held by a company listed in Australia.

“There is nothing in what I have seen of the proposals to suggest otherwise,” Mr Morrison told the Herald Sun.

“It is unthinkable that any Australian government could allow this original Big Australian to head offshore.”

Mr Morrison said the rules set down by Mr Costello were in Australia’s national interest and remained necessary.

The hedge fund’s proposal would see BHP Billiton’s assets transferred to a new company to be incorporated and listed in the UK.

The Treasurer warned that should BHP Billiton implement the Elliott Associates proposal, contrary to the conditions imposed in 2001, it could be committing a criminal offence and could be subject to civil penalties under the ­Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act.

“If the company is convicted of an offence, the directors could be held personally ­liable,” Mr Morrison said.

Elliott Associates representatives met with BHP investors in Sydney and Melbourne this week to argue its case for a corporate restructure, which involved cutting free US petroleum assets and paying out higher levels of shareholder returns.

Ratings agency Moody’s warned on Wednesday that proposals to boost shareholder ­returns would be “credit negative” for the miner.

Mr Morrison said if the ­acquisition were to go ahead without his approval, he could order a ­divestment of the ­assets ­acquired and take the matter to court to enforce it.

BHP chief executive Andrew Mackenzie and federal Treasurer Scott Morrison at an AFR business summit in March last year. Picture: David Geraghty

BHP’s history in Australia dates back to the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, which opened its head office in Melbourne in 1885 and started mining that year.

“The company plays an important role in the Australian economy,” Mr Morrison said.

Since coming to power in 2013, the Coalition has been forced to walk a fine line amid growing public concerns over foreign investment.

Mr Morrison blocked two recent major takeovers, citing national security in halting a Chinese bid for a cattle business and a Hong Kong bid for NSW’s electricity distributor.

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