Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison will vacate his role and pay a multimillion-dollar penalty after a major probe concluded he had used company resources for personal gain.
In a statement released on Monday, the mining giant’s board revealed Ellison would step down within the next 18 months under an accelerated succession plan it believed was in the best interests of shareholders.
The billionaire will repay almost $3.8 million in funds owed, forfeit bonuses tipped to be worth $9.6 million and make charitable donations totalling $5 million over the coming years.
Chris Ellison of Minerals Resources in a press conference after their AGM in Perth.Credit: Trevor Collens
In the hours following the announcement the miner’s languishing share price dropped almost 10 per cent, reversing gains it had made on Friday after confirming the sale of its gas assets to Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting for $1.1 billion.
Chair James McClements said the board’s decision had been shaped by what was in the best interests of its shareholders, while revealing he would also depart after a 10-year stint with the company.
“The board faced a unique set of circumstances, with a high-performing, value-creating managing director, and an array of governance issues that, in aggregate, created an environment that required us to make changes,” he said.
“The company’s rapid growth, particularly in the last five years, placed pressure on its governance systems and processes.
“While we have been working to improve those systems and processes, we recognise the need for accelerated change that reflects our status as a major ASX-listed company.
“We considered the best ways to achieve leadership succession and to make substantial advances in corporate governance, while also protecting value for shareholders.
“There can be no doubt that the actions, decisions and behaviours of Mr Ellison have been profoundly disappointing and require sanction and penalty.”
The news comes after the board revealed it had engaged law firm Herbert Smith Freehills to review allegations Ellison and four other MinRes executives made millions using offshore companies to peddle an equipment markup scheme two years ago, with the Australian Financial Review making the scheme public last month.
The scheme, devised in 2003, involved using the entities to acquire mining equipment and parts to import and on-sell in Australia.
On Monday, the board confirmed two further payments were made by MinRes after the $7 billion diversified mining services company’s initial public offering in 2006 to extinguish the liability.
The revenue generated by the overseas entities benefiting was not disclosed to the Australian Taxation Office until 2021, when Ellison made a voluntary disclosure.
The Perth-based billionaire then repaid $3.9 million to the ATO in May 2023, a settlement the board said he failed to disclose until six months later.
The probe also found the miner had provided financial benefits to related parties, with rent paid to entities in which he had an interest, staff directed to work on his personal property — including his boat — and finances and relief afforded to entities tied to his daughter Kristy-Lee Craker.
However, the board insisted it was satisfied that the use of the company assets had not been financially detrimental.
It was also uncovered that emails related to the company at the centre of the scheme were deleted in 2019 around the time Ellison began self-disclosing to the tax office.
The board concluded Ellison had failed to disclose the matters in a timely manner and act with integrity and told the market it had since overhauled controls on related party transactions and their disclosure.
Ellison, who founded the $7 billion company and remains its largest shareholder with an 11.5 per cent stake, said he was “deeply sorry” for his conduct and the impact on the company’s reputation.
“I apologise to the rest of the board and to our people, who expect and deserve better from me,” he said.
“I acknowledge that I made mistakes, some of which were driven by my wish to keep private certain events that cause me great personal embarrassment.
“I am committed to the leadership succession that the board has announced, and I will work tirelessly to win back the confidence of investors and our whole MinRes team.”
RBC Capital Markets analyst Kaan Peker said the move should be neutral for the miner’s share price, concluding that the steps taken removed uncertainty around leadership and were likely to strengthen corporate governance.
But Peker noted that Ellison still appeared to be well regarded by the market, and believed the key concern would be who would take the helm.
The $7.2 billion Osborne Park-headquartered company has operations spanning iron ore, lithium and mining services and more than 7000 staff on the books.
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