Star Entertainment Group has vowed to fight back against a securities class action lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
The suit, brought by the law firm of Phi Finney MacDonald, contends that Star misrepresented its policies to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, and according to Inside Asian Gaming, “conducted its affairs contrary to the interests of the members of the Star.” The alleged actions took place from March 2016 to June 2022.
In a statement, the company said, “The claim is substantially similar to the separate securities class actions filed by Slater & Gordon announced on 30 March 2022 and Maurice Blackburn announced on 7 November 2022. The Star intends to defend the proceedings.”
The company was recently deemed unsuitable to hold casino licenses in New South Wales and Queensland. A 2022 probe of Star Sydney in New South Wales uncovered the illegal use of China UnionPay cards for gambling, Star’s dealings with disgraced Macau junket operator Suncity Group, which closed after the arrest of top dog Alvin Chau, and an inadequate response to independent audits of its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism financing (CTF) systems.
Star was fined AU$100 million (US$62 million) by the newly formed NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC), and was hit by another AU$100 million fine in Queensland, where it operates the Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane.
Star’s NSW and Queensland casinos are now being supervised by independent monitors as the company strives to regain suitability.
According to Reuters, the Queensland license suspension was deferred to December to give the operator time to “remediate its management and operations and get back to a position of suitability.”
