In November 2018 the council loaned MRE $460,000 to discharge a debt owed to Edward River Council through another investment vehicle, Dongmun Greentec.
The loan was secured by a first mortgage over land in Gheringhap, near Geelong, and the funds were paid directly to Edward River Council.
In March 2019, Murray River Council approved an increase to the investment to MRE up to $900,000.
Murray River Council Mayor Chris Bilkey did not confirm the due date of the loan, which has changed since it was last publicly stated as April 2.
“By the end of May, a decision would have to be made on whether an extension to the loan is approved or whether the council takes action to retrieve the loan,” he said.
MRE reportedly has the same directors as Dongmun Greentec, and later Deniliquin Ethanol Plant Pty Ltd, which received development approval in 2016 for an ethanol plant in Deniliquin.
In 2014, the former Deniliquin Council loaned money to Dongmun Greentec to kickstart the development, but by the end of 2018, Edward River Council was threatening Supreme Court action to recover an outstanding portion of the loan.
Land owned by the company in Geelong was sold to repay the council, and finalised in 2019.
Little progress has been made on the development since then but the company, now known as Deniliquin Ethanol Plant Pty Ltd, made a request last year to purchase the Barham Rd land earmarked for the Deniliquin project and negotiations are ongoing.
The audit investigation the council voted for in August last year is being undertaken by external company Centium.
A draft report will go to the council’s internal audit committee in the first week of May, unless new information is found at this late stage.
The Office of Local Government also confirmed it was conducting an investigation into Murray River Council’s involvement in the proposed ethanol plant.
The Moama ethanol plant proposal is progressing through the NSW state significant development application process.
It would see the construction and operation of an ethanol plant with the capacity to produce up to 115 gigalitres of ethanol each year.
Murray River Energy has lodged a scoping report for the project and is now preparing an environmental impact statement.
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