Mr Finkelstein responded that it was “maybe honest,but not forthcoming or candid”.
Crown was now working with two possible figures,Mr McCann said,which he did not disclose but said were far lower than the $272 million figure suggested in earlier hearings. Crown would pay Victoria the higher of those two figures plus interest before discussing with the state whether an even higher repayment was required.
Mr McCann left his role as CEO of property giant Lendlease to join Crown on June 1,after Crown’s previous CEO Ken Barton became one of the many casualties of NSW’s damning Bergin Inquiry last year.
Mr McCann became emotional when explaining to the commission how he proposed to use his experience driving a significant cultural shift at Lendlease - including a reduction of deaths on worksites - to fix Crown’s corporate culture following revelations of company wrongdoing and infiltration by organised crime.
Staff wanted to “restore the pride in the organisations that they used to feel” working at Crown but could not because “their family and friends are struggling with what’s going on,” he said.
Mr McCann told Crown staff not to follow his or anybody else’s directions if they were “asking them to do something... that’s inconsistent with their values,” he said,before the commission took a short break for him to compose himself.
Under further questioning from Commissioner Finkelstein,Mr McCann said that Crown’s desire to make money should not stop it from doing the right thing,such as preventing money laundering,because malpractice would eventual cost the casino its right to operate.
“Maybe the only surprising thing[is] it’s taken this long for Crown to work that out,” he said.
Earlier in the day,Mr McCann told the inquiry he only learnt about Crown’s tax issue on June 7,when a corporate affairs manager emailed him a news article about its revelation at the commission.
“I don’t think it was surprising but it was disappointing now that I know what I know,” he said. “It would have been nice to have been told earlier.”
However Crown’s directors,lawyers and executives were “trying to bring me up to speed on a lot of things” and he believed they had given him all the material that was relevant.
Victoria’s royal commission,launched in February after NSW’s inquiry found Crown unfit to hold the licence for its new Sydney casino,is expected to conclude public hearings on Friday with senior figures including executive chair Helen Coonan to give evidence this week.
Commissioner Finkelstein will deliver his findings to government by October 15.
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