The NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority's inquiry is reviewing Crown's probity to hold a licence for its new $2.4 billion casino nearing completion at Sydney's Barangaroo in light of revelations byThe Age,Sydney Morning Herald and60 Minutes that it went into business with"junkets"- which bring wealthy Chinese gamblers to its Australian casinos - linked to powerful crime syndicates.
Counsel assisting Naomi Sharp,SC,on Monday grilled Crown's chief legal officer,Joshua Preston,on one of Crown's largest junket operators,Alvin Chau and his Macau-based Suncity outfit.
The inquiry heard Crown received a due diligence report on Mr Chau in April 2016 that warned the US government considered him to be involved in organised crime,while a separate May 2016 dossier warned that he appeared to be a former member of the"14K Triad” in Macau under the leadership of notorious gangster Wan Kuok-koi,also known as “Broken Tooth Koi”.
And in June 2017,the anti-money laundering agency AUSTRAC contacted Crown asking it to explain how it considered its partnership with Mr Chau to be appropriate.
The hearing was shown footage leaked by independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie showing large bundles of cash being exchanged for betting chips inside Suncity's private room at Crown Melbourne,which Ms Sharp said acted as an “island of immunity” from Crown's anti-money laundering regime.
Mr Preston could not say if the incidents captured on film were ever reported to AUSTRAC due to uncertainty around when the events precisely took place.
Crown had additional “controls” put in place for Suncity after March 2018 when management discovered $5.6 million in cash stored in a cupboard at its exchange desk. Mr Preston said that was “an inordinate amount of money"and triggered concerns the room was being used to launder dirty cash.