Gina Rinehart throws lifeline to MinRes as company awaits outcome of probe into tax evasion allegations

Australia's wealthiest woman has thrown embattled WA mining mogul Chris Ellison a billion-dollar lifeline, just days before he learns the outcome of an investigation into allegations of tax evasion. Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting will splash $1.13 billion on Mineral Resources' oil and gas projects in the Perth Basin in Lockyer, and an exploration acreage in the Carnarvon Basin. Tax evasion scandal Earlier this month, Nine Newspapers alleged Mr Ellison and four other senior Mineral Resources executives defrauded taxpayers and company shareholders of around $7 million by transferring company funds to a series of accounts based in the British Virgin Islands — a jurisdiction where companies don't have to pay income tax. Lifeline for MinRes Hancock Prospecting entered discussions with Mineral Resources shortly after the latter last month announced it would consider releasing value from its gas exploration ground. The buyout would build on Hancock Prospecting's existing assets in the Perth Basin, and follows the company’s purchase of 50 per cent of the adjacent West Erregulla gas field last year.