Tag: Melbourne

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Article: Crown spiked review of new money laundering rules

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Crown spiked review of new money laundering rules

Patrick Hatch, 25 May 2021

Crown Resorts stopped an independent review of new anti-money laundering controls early this year after preliminary findings suggested it was not complying with measures to prevent criminal infiltration of its bank accounts.

Neil Jeans, principal at the anti-money laundering consultancy Initialism, told Victoria’s royal commission into Crown on Tuesday that Crown commissioned him in early 2021 to review its recent ban on cash deposits and third-party transfers to its patron bank accounts. Continue reading “Article: Crown spiked review of new money laundering rules”

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Article: Crown ‘lied’ in Victoria, evidence of money laundering in Perth

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Crown ‘lied’ in Victoria, evidence of money laundering in Perth

Elouise Fowler and Brad Thompson, 17 May 2021

Crown Resorts management “lied” and used delay tactics to stymie an investigation into the 2016 arrests of 19 China-based staff, the Victorian gambling regulator told the Crown Resorts royal commission on Monday.

Timothy Bryant, an investigator at the gambling watchdog, told the Victorian inquiry that Crown’s stonewalling meant it took longer to uncover the truth about the gambling giant’s failure to protect its staff, 16 of whom were jailed for illegally promoting gambling in China.

“I certainly consider that they [Crown], at times, they lied to me at interviews about what they were aware of and what they weren’t aware of,” Mr Bryant revealed to the inquiry, which is examining Crown’s suitability to hold its Melbourne casino licence. Continue reading “Article: Crown ‘lied’ in Victoria, evidence of money laundering in Perth”

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Article: Victorian Royal Commission into Crown Melbourne begins

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Victorian Royal Commission into Crown Melbourne begins

Peter Lynch, 17 May 2021

The Victorian Royal Commission into the suitability of Crown Resorts to hold a casino licence in Melbourne commenced today.

The commission revealed its first four witnesses as Timothy Bryant and Jason Cremona from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR), Dr Murray Lawson, director of Ethics and Risk Culture at accounting firm Deloitte Australia, and Nick Stokes, head of financial crime and money laundering reporting officer at Crown Resorts Limited.

Opening questions for Bryant and Cremona will focus on the VCGLR’s monitoring of the operator, its investigation into the arrests of 19 staff members in China in 2016, as well as junket operations. Continue reading “Article: Victorian Royal Commission into Crown Melbourne begins”

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Article: ‘A harm-production factory’: Crown casino faces scrutiny over problem gambling

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‘A harm-production factory’: Crown casino faces scrutiny over problem gambling

Ben Butler,  26 March 2021

Triads, shopping bags full of cash, money laundering – if you’ve been following the inquiry into Crown Resorts run by New South Wales authorities, you might think there aren’t many allegations left to be hurled at the casino operator.

But a royal commission into the operation of the James Packer-controlled group’s flagship casino in Melbourne could expose it to fresh attack over a problem its critics have long claimed is rife at the complex: problem gambling.

Opening the inquiry on Wednesday, royal commissioner Ray Finkelstein said there was “no practical utility” in going over the same territory dealt with by the NSW inquiry, which reported to state parliament in February. Continue reading “Article: ‘A harm-production factory’: Crown casino faces scrutiny over problem gambling”

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Article: Commission will probe money laundering

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Commission will probe money laundering

Elouise Fowler, 24 March 2021

The Crown Resorts royal commission in Victoria will probe deeper into whether money laundering is still happening at Crown’s flagship casino at Southbank in Melbourne, says the inquiry head, former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein, QC.

Commissioner Finkelstein said he was concerned the gambling giant had not faced up to its role in facilitating the criminal activity through its gaming rooms, as revealed in a scathing NSW inquiry that found the $8 billion company unfit to hold a licence at its new $2.2 billion casino in Sydney.

In his opening remarks on the first day of public hearings, Mr Finkelstein said he wrote to the gambling giant to gauge its “attitude” and to ask whether Crown accepted the findings from the NSW probe. Continue reading “Article: Commission will probe money laundering”

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Article: Crown chairman Helen Coonan admits casino ‘facilitated’ money laundering

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Crown chairman Helen Coonan admits casino ‘facilitated’ money laundering

Mostafa Rachwani,  20 October 2020

The Crown Resorts chairman, Helen Coonan, has admitted the company facilitated money laundering at its Melbourne casino but denied it was “turning a blind eye” to criminal activity instead blaming it on “ineptitude”.

The concession was made at the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority’s inquiry into Crown’s suitability to hold a Sydney casino licence.

Coonan was asked on Tuesday about Crown’s relationship with SunCity, a high-roller junket partner with alleged criminal links. She was challenged on why Crown did not shut down SunCity’s private room in Melbourne after evidence emerged of money laundering. Continue reading “Article: Crown chairman Helen Coonan admits casino ‘facilitated’ money laundering”

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Article: Crown Melbourne casino faces Austrac investigation for potential money laundering breaches

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Crown Melbourne casino faces Austrac investigation for potential money laundering breaches

Anne Davies,  30 March 2021

Crown Resorts is facing a new threat to its casino licences and the prospect of multimillion-dollar fines after it was informed by Austrac, the government agency responsible for anti-money laundering laws that it has identified “potential non-compliance” by Crown Melbourne.

In a release to the ASX, Crown has said the “potential non-compliance includes concerns in relation to ongoing customer due diligence, and adopting, maintaining and complying with an anti-money laundering / counter-terrorism financing program”. Continue reading “Article: Crown Melbourne casino faces Austrac investigation for potential money laundering breaches”

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