Australian operator Star Entertainment has announced that interim Chief Financial Officer Christina Katsibouba has been promoted to permanent status as of January 1, after first taking on the position back in May.
Before taking on her current duties, Katsibouba had previously served as the company’s group executive of gaming.
The announcement is a positive development for Star, as Katsibouba appears to be filling in nicely after stepping into a firestorm of sorts—when she originally accepted the interim CFO role, numerous Star executives had resigned amid anti-money laundering violations and other failings, including her predecessor Harry Theodore.
In the months since, Theodore as well as former CEO Matt Bekier, former chief legal officer Paula Martin and former chief NSW casino officer Greg Hawkins have come under legal scrutiny, specifically regarding the use of China UnionPay cards to transfer gambling funds and the company’s relationship with junkets such as Suncity Group.
Star’s current CEO, Robbie Cooke, said in a statement regarding Katsibouba’s appointment that he looks forward to “working closely with Christina as we continue our focus on returning The Star to suitability and earning back the trust and confidence of all our stakeholders.”
As of now, Star has been deemed unfit to hold casinos licenses in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, and its casinos in the states are under the supervision of state-appointed managers.
Over the course of the next year, the company will have a number of added expenses to factor in, after receiving over US$1000 million in fines over the last six months from state governments in both Queensland and NSW.
