The move comes just days after the miner revealed a probe into the tax evasion scheme — first published by the Australian Financial Review last month — had concluded Ellison used company resources for personal gain.

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The investigation found the miner had provided financial benefits to related parties, with rent paid to entities in which Ellison had an interest, staff directed to work on the billionaire’s personal property — including his boat — and finances and relief afforded to entities tied to his daughter Kristy-Lee Craker.

It was also uncovered that emails related to the offshore entity at the centre of the scheme were deleted in 2019 around the time Ellison began self-disclosing to the tax office.

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.

Ellison, who founded the entity that led to the formation of the $7 billion company in 1992, said he was “deeply sorry” for his conduct and the impact on the company’s reputation.

The news coincides with credit ratings agency Moody’s cutting its outlook for MinRes to negative, and comes less than 24 hours after the corporate watchdog confirmed it had launched a full-scale probe into the scheme.

During a senate hearing on Thursday, Australian Securities and Investments Scheme deputy chair Sarah Court confirmed its preliminary enquiries had triggered a formal investigation about a week ago.

Despite the probe being in its initial stages, Court said the investigation group had already begun liaising with the Australian Taxation Office.

AustralianSuper sold more than $48 million worth of MinRes shares last month, relinquishing its status as a substantial shareholder and declaring it would be reassessing its long-term position in the company.

But the response from shareholders has been mixed, with Melbourne-based hedge fund L1 Capital voicing its support for a strengthened corporate governance protocol and Ellison remaining at the helm.

L1 Capital is MinRes’ second-largest shareholder behind Ellison, who retains an 11.5 per cent stake.

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