Billionaire mining boss Chris Ellison, who has banned flexible working and discouraged staff from leaving the office for coffee, said he regretted the decision not to disclose income generated by overseas entities to tax authorities.
The Mineral Resources founder said before the company floated in 2006, he and his business partners operated overseas entities to buy mining equipment, then import and sell it in Australia.
Shares in Perth-based mining services company MinRes, which owns significant iron ore and lithium assets, fell more than 10 per cent on Monday as investors reacted to revelations stemming from an Australian Financial Review investigation over the weekend.
“Regrettably, the income generated by the overseas entity of which we were the beneficiary was not disclosed to the Australian Taxation Office at the time,” Allison said in a statement.
“This was a poor decision and a serious error in judgment.”
Mr Allison said he had voluntarily made full disclosure of these matters to the Australian Taxation Office and all outstanding tax, penalties and interest had now been repaid.
“I deeply regret and apologize for these actions and have ensured that this matter has been rectified with the ATO,” he said.
MinRes Chairman James McClements said the board has hired outside legal counsel to investigate.
He said MinRes managing director Allison had cooperated with the investigation.
McClements said the board has full confidence in Allison and his leadership of the executive team.
Allison, one of Australia’s richest mining magnates, has made headlines recently for his sharp criticism of flexible working arrangements, which extends to a desire to prevent workers from leaving their offices during the day.
“I want to imprison them all day long,” Ellison said in an August financial report. “I don’t want them leaving the building… I don’t want them walking down the street to get a cup of coffee. We figured out how much this would cost a few years ago.
The company operates nursery facilities and has a restaurant and gym at its headquarters.
In 2009, the billionaire purchased a house on Perth’s Swan River for A$57.5 million, setting the record at the time as Australia’s most expensive home sale ever.