Closing submissions for the ongoing inquiry into Australian operator Star Entertainment Group are under way, and the company is facing a number of allegations, including money laundering and fraud related to their relationship with junkets and their involvement with China UnionPay bank card scams.
Naomi Sharp SC, who has assisted with the inquiry, recently recommended that the company be found “not suitable” to hold a gaming license for its Star Sydney casino.
The inquiry was launched last year by the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority after local news outlets reported that Star had dealings with Suncity Group, a junket operator with suspected criminal ties, as well as their involvement with the China UnionPay (CUP) bank card scandal.
Star is alleged to have allowed guests to use CUP cards to illegally fund gambling, and then tried to conceal those transactions as “dummy” room expenses from 2013 to 2020. This practice is not only illegal under Australia’s Casino Control Act ,it is also prohibited by the card operator due to Chinese foreign exchange laws.
Fellow Australian operator Crown Resorts was recently handed a $58 million fine by the Victorian government for the same practice. According to Sharp, Star processed approximately 2000 such transactions during that time–those transactions totaled about $900 million.
Additionally, Star may have also committed fraud by sending “misleading and deceptive” emails to National Australia Bank regarding the practice, according to Sharp.
As far as Star’s relationship with Suncity and former CEO Alvin Chau, Sharp and others highlighted the fact that the operator repeatedly and knowingly disregarded warnings about Chau’s criminal ties, thereby putting profit ahead of safety.
Over the course of the inquiry thus far, numerous Star executives have resigned, including CEO Matt Bekier, CFO Harry Theodore, Chairman John O’Neill, Chief Legal and Risk Officer Paula Martin and Chief Casino Officer Greg Hawkins.
That said, regulators do not appear to be satisfied with the departures, as Sharp said during proceedings that it is “not enough to bring a corporation into suitability simply to terminate the employment of, or part company with a number of senior officers.”
The inquiry is led by Adam Bell SC, who will ultimately make the final ruling on Star’s suitability for continuing operations.
