Mineral Resources, Chris Ellison pushing for permanent secrecy over allegations linked to probes

Chris Ellison and Mineral Resources are pushing for a permanent veil of secrecy over a self-proclaimed whistleblower’s allegations about the besieged billionaire.

MinRes and its doomed boss want to keep secret allegations made by Steven Pigozzo in 2022 and 2023 just as the company was hiring external lawyers and accountants to quietly investigate Mr Ellison’s tax troubles.

This permanent secrecy push is being made despite aspects of Mr Pigozzo’s Federal Court allegations overlapping with matters in a newly revealed scandal about Mr Ellison’s tax affairs and his private dealings with MinRes.

MinRes surprisingly settled its tit-for-tat legal battles with Mr Pigozzo in July this year, a month after the company’s board was briefed on the secret investigations.

The lithium and iron ore miner has been forced to shed light on this probe over the past fortnight after media reports revealed Mr Ellison’s secret settlement with the Australian Taxation Office over $3.8 million of payments made via a tax haven company in 2006 and 2008.

Unveiling plans to replace Mr Ellison within 18 months, MinRes told the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday he had “not placed sufficient separation between his personal interests and the interest of the company as a whole”.

It found he used company resources for his personal benefit — including directing an employee to work on his boat and properties, and using the company to procure goods and services for his private use.

It did not spell out the details of these projects or directly address the cost of MinRes staff allegedly working on the billionaire’s private projects, only saying the board was satisfied it had “not caused material financial detriment to the company”.

MinRes assured the stock exchange that “procedures existed to ensure” Mr Ellison paid the company when he used it to “procure goods and services”.

In a rare gap in Federal Court secrecy orders amassed by MinRes’ lawyers over two years, The West Australian can report Mr Pigozzo’s claims that he was directed by Mr Ellison to work on the billionaire’s private projects.

Mr Pigozzo claimed to have spent a month of MinRes’ time in 2017 helping with work on Halfway Bay station, a luxury New Zealand property formerly majority owned by Mr Ellison.

The fix-it man said he undertook “various tasks” linked to the luxury yacht Anya over six months in 2018 when it was in the Rous Head boatshed.

He also claimed to have worked on the Wild Barra Fisheries operation bought by Mr Ellison in 2019.

He resolved a dispute between a building developer and Mr Ellison’s former wife Debbie, as well as arranged a helicopter and limousine for the boss to attend Royal Ascot races in England with his guests.

Mr Pigozzo alleged Mr Ellison breached his director duties by having him work on private projects.

He also claimed he was entitled to whistleblower protection over a variety of matters allegedly featuring Mr Ellison.

This included the non-disclosure of allegedly damaging emails in a legal battle with Hampton Transport and ignoring warnings about the high cost of MinRes’ new plush Osborne Park headquarters.

Chunks of Mr Pigozzo’s allegations about Mr Ellison are subject to suppression orders that the billionaire’s long-time lawyers at Bennett have sought since June 2022.

But the timing of internal investigations slowly disclosed by MinRes over the past fortnight reveal an overlap with key dates in its Federal Court battles with Mr Pigozzo.

MinRes’ first investigation started in June 2022, reportedly after independent directors received an email tip-off about Mr Ellison’s tax battles.

It told the ASX this week that top-shelf law firm Herbert Smith Freehills had been “engaged since 2022 to assist the board and investigate allegations concerning Mr Ellison”.

Mr Pigozzo filed a contentious statement of claim in June 2022.

Mr Pigozzo filed two more statements of claim in June 2023, containing detailed allegations now subject to secrecy orders. He filed a further statement of claim in November last year, also subject to secrecy orders.

In response to an ASX query last week, MinRes disclosed receiving “more detailed allegations” in June 2023 about payments to overseas entities linked to Mr Ellison .

And it disclosed receiving “substantive details regarding these matters” in November that year.

MinRes it was “informed of allegations” in October last year about Mr Ellison’s settlement payment to the ATO and the billionaire “confirmed the facts” the next month.

It called in external counsel to investigate these matters last November, it told the ASX.

MinRes is refusing to answer questions about whether its internal investigations were linked to allegations made by Mr Pigozzo in their legal battles.

Mr Pigozzo declined to comment.

The Federal Court has set down December 18 for a hearing into the application filed by MinRes, Mr Ellison and its chief financial officer for a variety of secrecy orders to be made permanent.