The Queensland Government has vowed to press ahead with the criminal prosecution of oil and gas firm Linc Energy for the alleged contamination of farmland in the state's south-east, despite the company being placed into liquidation.

Key points: Linc Energy founder denies claims that pollution problems were caused by the company's Chinchilla plant

Linc Energy founder denies claims that pollution problems were caused by the company's Chinchilla plant Says the Queensland Government's new chain of responsibility laws are scaring away investors

Says the Queensland Government's new chain of responsibility laws are scaring away investors Linc Energy could face a shareholder class action because of its volatile share price

Creditors of Linc Energy voted to wind up the company yesterday and sell its assets to recover debts of $320 million.

Linc Energy has been charged with causing serious environmental harm, but founder Peter Bond has denied there were pollution problems caused by the company's underground coal gasification plant near Chinchilla on Queensland's Darling Downs.

Linc Energy is also facing a class action from land owners for loss of land value because of the alleged contamination.

Appearing on The Business, Mr Bond said the company looked forward to defending the charges.

"There is no environmental problem at Chinchilla," Mr Bond said.

"None. Zero. It's just wrong."

He also accused the Queensland Government of scaring away investors by passing new chain of responsibility laws, which oblige resources companies to clean up their operations even if they go under.

"The Queensland Government has had a very bloody-minded approach to this," Mr Bond said.

"The reflection of what's happened to Linc is just another reason why you can't do business in Queensland.

"Queensland is shut for business."

Linc Energy faces $8.8m fine in criminal case

Linc Energy's motto was "fuelling the future" and the media-savvy Mr Bond flew around the country to promote the jet fuel made at the experimental plant in Chinchilla, which converted coal to gas underground.

The firm also had conventional oil, gas, and coal operations in Australia and overseas.

In late March, Linc Energy called in the administrators because of plunging oil and gas prices, the inability to restructure its debts, and the cost of meeting its environmental obligations in Queensland.

Linc Energy liquidator, Grant Sparks, from PPB Advisory, said that most of the 155 creditors would not get all their money back, although workers would receive all their entitlements.

Linc Energy could be fined more than $8.8 million if the Queensland Government wins the criminal case.

The Government has also increased the value of the rehabilitation bond Linc Energy has to pay to clean up the Chinchilla plant from $3.6 million to $29 million, a decision the company has appealed against in the courts.

But Mr Sparks says if the Government wins the legal action it will have to line up with the other creditors.

"If it's $29 million, it's an unsecured claim in the liquidation which would then mean they would stand in line like everyone else and the state would then be responsible for the remediation of that site," Mr Sparks said.

Mr Bond resigned as a director of the firm last year but he remains the biggest shareholder with 20 per cent of the company.

His claims while company boss raised eyebrows, including his initial claims that Linc Energy's shale oil discovery in South Australia were potentially "Saudi Arabia numbers".

Linc faces possible shareholder class action

University of Wollongong's Professor Alex Frino, an independent expert in class action lawsuits by investors, said Linc Energy could face a shareholder class action because of its volatile share price.

"In early 2013, the company was valued at $1.5 billion after a shale oil discovery that was potentially misinterpreted by the market," Professor Frino said.

"Two months later [it was] valued at $500 million."

Sorry, this video has expired Linc Energy creditors vote to put the company into liquidation ( Sue Lannin )

In late 2013, Linc Energy moved from the Australian share market to the Singapore stock exchange.

But in the past year, Linc Energy's shares fell 95 per cent, wiping out most of the market value to just $15.7 million.

Shareholders are unlikely to get any money back.

Mr Sparks said PPB had not found any evidence of wrongdoing by Linc Energy executives but said it may have traded while insolvent last year.

"We believe it was solvent at the time we were appointed but may have been insolvent earlier because of transactions the board entered into at that time," he said.

He is also investigating whether $85 million lent by Linc Energy to its subsidiaries could be recovered and returned to creditors.