No wonder some shareholders in News Corp are horrified at the largesse and help being extended to family members by Rupert Murdoch.

Not only has James Murdoch’s role in the company, at the putative No.3, been clouded by new revelations in London (Crikey yesterday), but News Corp has now revealed that his sister, Elisabeth, will get a net $US214 million in cash from the sale of her Shine TV production company earlier this year, a deal that has seen several legal actions launched in the US against News.

While it was believed Ms Murdoch profited handsomely from the deal, the precise figure was not revealed until News Corp filed its 10-K annual report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday night, our time.

News paid $US673 million earlier this year for Shine, which produces MasterChef overseas, and in Australia from next year. It is also responsible for the huge Ten network flop, The Renovators.

News said in its SEC filing:

“In April 2011, the Company acquired Shine Limited (“Shine”), an international television production company, for cash. The total consideration for this acquisition included (i) approximately $480 million for the acquisition of the equity, of which approximately $60 million has been set aside in escrow to satisfy any indemnification obligations, (ii) the repayment of Shine’s outstanding debt of approximately $135 million and (iii) net liabilities assumed.

“Elisabeth Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shine, and daughter of Mr. K. R. Murdoch and sister of Messrs. Lachlan and James Murdoch, received approximately $214 million in cash at closing in consideration for her majority ownership interest in Shine, and is entitled to her proportionate share of amounts that are released from escrow.”

So a direct transfer from News Corp shareholders to Ms Murdoch of a rather large sum of money.

The proposed purchase was announced in February and in March, two small US investment firms issued a writ in a Delaware court claiming that the deal was “nepotistic” and showed Mr Murdoch using the company as a “family candy store”.

The SEC filing says that legal action is still pending, and in July was amended by the plaintiffs to include new accusations that the News Corp board had “failed in their duty of oversight” regarding the phone-hacking scandal in the UK.

Part of the purchase announcement said Ms Murdoch would become a News Corp board, but that plan was put on hold earlier this month as the phone-hacking scandal in London cast doubt on the corporate governance at the media giant and the hold the Murdoch family has, despite being a minority shareholder, but controlling the group through a big stake in voting shares.

James Murdoch is deputy chief operating officer of News and was the suggested chief executive-in-waiting until his father told a profit briefing conference last week that Chase Carey, the chief operating officer, was the successor.

James Murdoch is expected to be recalled by the UK parliamentary select committee to clarify parts of the testimony he gave last month after new documents this week cast doubt on that evidence.

And while Rupert Murdoch was almost defiant on last week’s conference call, maintaining there was no further changes planned at the top of the company and that James still had the confidence of management, the SEC filing this week put a different light on that.

In fact News has made its clearest acknowledgement so far of the phone-hacking scandal’s potential impact on its operations, and the investigations by US and UK regulators.

“We face criminal investigations regarding allegations of phone hacking and inappropriate payments to police and other related matters and related civil lawsuits, News said.

“UK and US regulators and governmental authorities are conducting investigations after allegations of phone hacking and inappropriate payments to police at our former publication, News of the World , and other related matters, including investigations into whether similar conduct may have occurred at the company’s subsidiaries outside of the UK. The company is co-operating fully with these investigations.

“We are not able to predict the ultimate outcome or cost of the investigations. Violations of law may result in civil, administrative or criminal fines or penalties. It is also possible that these proceedings could damage our reputation and might impair our ability to conduct our business. Any fees, expenses, fines, penalties, judgments or settlements which might be incurred by the company in connection with the various proceedings could affect the company’s results of operations and financial condition.”