On Thursday Mr Turnbull on the election campaign trail said there was "no suggestion of any impropriety whatsoever" in the Panama Papers records which name him.

MacNee and a Russian Australian, Ludmila Melnikoff, had won approval for a 34.88 per cent stake in LenaGold, a joint venture to develop the gold prospect, after wining and dining a dizzy range of Russian politicians even up to President Boris Yeltsin, who was pictured standing beside MacNee in the Central Mining 1993 annual report.

MacNee and Melnikoff had assigned the rights over LenaGold to their British Virgin Islands company, Green Applied Systems Limited (in December 1991 they renamed it Star Technology Systems Ltd.) Documents of Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, known as the Panama Papers, show MacNee used a Hong Kong intermediary, Capital Corporate Services Ltd. But the registered agent that officially ran the company in the British Virgin Islands was the local office of Mossack Fonseca.

​The mining deal needed money, and MacNee brought in Malcolm Turnbull's advisory firm, Turnbull & Partners, and broker County NatWest, who raised $72 million for Central Mining by placing 200 million shares with institutions at 36 cents each. Turnbull and his partner at the time, former NSW Premier Neville Wran, took their $2 million fee in the form of 6 million shares and joined the board of Central (which by now was renamed Star Mining Corporation) on October 29 1993.

A copy of Star Technology Systems Ltd's register of directors, showing Malcolm Turnbull and Neville Wran were appointed to the board on December 3 1993. Their names were crossed out after they resigned September 25 1995. Panama Papers

The price for Star Mining to acquire the BVI company Star Technology was $5 million cash plus 200 million Star Mining shares, which puts a total price tag of around $77 million received by the owners of Star Technology. The lucky recipient appears to have been MacNee, but the BVI company had 50 registered shares and one certificate for 50 bearer shares, which is an unusual arrangement because the only evidence of who owns a bearer share is who holds it at the time.

Did MacNee have a secret Russian partner? It isn't clear. More than $100 million would be paid through Star Technology towards the Siberian gold project, but it was difficult for shareholders to be sure exactly where the money ended up because in Star Mining's 1994 and 1995 accounts, Star Technology appeared with an asterisk and note: "Controlled entity not required to be audited under British Virgin lsland requirements."

This was the company's major asset. And its results were not audited.


It wasn't until July 1995, when Star was seeking bank finance for the project, that a hasty decision was made to replace Star Technology's bearer shares with registered shares.

Mossack Fosneca confirms the change of name from Green Applied Systems Ltd to Star Technology Systems Ltd, December 5 1991. Panama Papers

A spokesman for Mr Turnbull told The Australian Financial Review that the Prime Minister had not been aware that Mossack Fonseca was involved with Star Technology.

On Thursday referring to the article Mr Turnbull said: "There is nothing new there. The company concerned was a wholly owned subsidiary of a public listed Australian company.

"The involvement is very, very well known. The company of which Neville Wran and I were directors was an Australian listed company and had it made any profits — which it did not regrettably — it certainly would have paid tax in Australia, but obviously you haven't studied the accounts of the company concerned."

As Mr Turnbull pointed out, for all the potential, there were no tax savings in the British Virgin Islands because Siberia became a money pit. The company wrote off $127 million on the failed venture in 1998 after Russian courts overturned decisions by Russian politicians.

Mossack Fonseca internal fax, November 5 1993: the firm's principal, Ramon Fonseca, had queried payment for a stamped licence fee. Panama Papers

It's not suggested there was anything improper in Mr Turnbull's role. He and Mr Wran resigned as directors from Star Mining on September 1 1995 citing work commitments in Australia. They stepped down from Star Technology on September 25 1995.


Years later, allegations emerged that MacNee had paid money from Star Technology to political figures in Russia. In 2004 The Sydney Morning Herald reported seeing an internal company document written by MacNee in 1996 (a year after Turnbull's departure) indicating that the company was planning two separate payments totalling $300,000 to right-wing politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky's party accounts.

When asked about this, MacNee replied: "I don't want to speak about it."

Graeme Ellis, then a Star executive, said he was unaware of payments to Zhirinovsky, although he confirmed that the company made political donations. "Doing business in Russia was a very political place to be and all foreign companies found that they needed to have as many political arms out as possible."

Certificate of Incumbency for Star Technology Systems Ltd signed by Mossack Fonseca June 15 1995. But while it said the sole shareholder was Star Mining NL in Australia, half of the then shares were bearer shares with no registered owner. Panama Papers

A spokesman for Mr Turnbull said on Wednesday: "Mr Turnbull is not aware of any payments to political parties or politicians made by Star during or prior to his time as director."

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