Chris Ellison, the billionaire mining boss who banned flexible work and dissuades employees from leaving the office for coffee, said he regrets a decision not to disclose revenue generated by overseas entities to tax authorities.
The Mineral Resources founder said that he and his business partners operated overseas entities to purchase mining equipment to import and sell in Australia prior to the company’s listing in 2006.
Shares in MinRes, a Perth-based mining services company with a large portfolio of iron ore and lithium assets, fell more than 10% on Monday as investors reacted to the disclosures issued in response to an investigation by the Australian Financial Review over the weekend.
“Regrettably, revenue generated by the overseas entities that we were beneficiaries of was not disclosed to the Australian Taxation Office at that time,” Ellison said in a statement.
“This was a poor decision and a serious lapse of judgement.”
Ellison said he had voluntarily disclosed these matters to the ATO in full, with all outstanding tax, penalties and interest now repaid.
“I deeply regret and apologise for these actions, and have since ensured that I have put the matter right with the ATO,” he said.
The MinRes chair, James McClements, said the board had engaged external legal counsel to conduct an investigation.
He said Ellison, who is managing director at MinRes, had cooperated with the investigation.
McClements said the board had full confidence in Ellison and his leadership of the executive team.
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Ellison, one of Australia’s wealthiest mining magnates, recently made headlines for his strident criticism of flexible work arrangements that extended to wanting to keep workers from stepping out of the office during the day.
“I want to hold them captive all day long,” Ellison said during a financial presentation in August. “I don’t want them leaving the building … I don’t want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee. We kind of figured out a few years ago how much that cost.”
The company operates creche facilities, and its headquarters have a restaurant and gym.
In 2009, the billionaire set a record after paying $57.5m for a Perth home on the Swan River, which was at the time the most expensive house sale ever recorded in Australia.
