The long-running liquidation of an island-based investment fund rumbles on at the Manx taxpayer’s expense.

New Earth Recycling and Renewables (Infrastructure) Plc was wound up by the Manx authorities back in June 2016.

Together with its two feeder funds, NERR had some 3,249 investors and had been valued at $292m.

But when the company folded, the value of those investments was close to zero.

An update has been sent to shareholders and creditors by the liquidators who are investigating the reasons for the company’s failure to see whether liability can be attributed to any party and if a viable claim can be made.

Joint liquidators Alex Adam and David Craine say that since their last update in August they have continued to progress investigations into the roles of other advisers to NERR. They said: ’We have obtained, and are reviewing, further documentation.

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’We are also in the process of updating our findings for this new information for review by our legal advisers and, ultimately, obtaining formal counsel’s opinion as to whether there is a commercially viable claim which has a realistic chance of success, and which - if successful - has the prospect of resulting in a return to investors.’

They added: ’We are unable to provide further details at the present time due to the risk of prejudicing any possible future action.’

Meanwhile, the liquidation continues to be funded by the island’s Financial Services Authority.

The liquidators note that this funding remains subject to ongoing review by the FSA and can be withdrawn at any time.

The FSA has so far declined to reveal how much had been spent on the liquidation of this and other failed investment funds linked to the Premier Group.

But we reported in July 2018 that liquidators’ fees and expenses in the taxpayer-funded winding up of NERR had by that date totalled more than £374,700.