ST. PAUL — A philanthropist who donated $50 million to help build the University of Minnesota’s children’s hospital has dissolved her charitable foundation and given the remaining $1.77 million to her father’s new medical device company.

The Pioneer Press reported that Caroline Amplatz’s decision last month began an investigation by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson’s office, which has asked her to retrieve the foundation’s assets before it reviews the legality of giving money intended for charitable purposes to a private company.

Amplatz said in an email Thursday that she returned the funds to the Caroline Kid’s Foundation’s bank account to comply with a mandatory waiting period.

Amplatz, who is an attorney, said the transfer isn’t illegal and that the issue entails determining how to pay future taxes, which she said she intends to do.

She has given generously to a variety of Twin Cities organizations over the past decade. She has donated to environmental, education and arts causes, including $3 million to the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts in Minneapolis.