The VCGLR says the advertisement was “highly provocative” and “highly inappropriate”,because it failed to mention what Ms Coonan would later tell the Bergin inquiry was a “collective concern” of directors that Crown executives had not told them the full risks of working in China.
The advertisement also falsely implied Crown relied on legal advice about its activities prior to the arrests;and sought to question the motives of one of the arrested employees who spoke to the investigation,the commission says.
“The response to the media allegations is a further instance of a breakdown in the corporate governance structures at Crown Melbourne and Crown Resorts,” the report says.
“It has also raised concerns about the capabilities of the individual directors,some of whom are or were directors of Crown Melbourne at the time the response to the media allegations was published by Crown.”
The advertisement was signed by all 11 Crown directors at the time. Former Howard government minister Ms Coonan,Toni Korsanos and Jane Halton are the only directors still at the company following a string of resignations before and after the Bergin inquiry. Ms Coonan and Ms Halton told the Bergin inquiry that,in hindsight,the advertisement was inappropriate.
The NSW inquiry found that Ms Coonan - a Crown director since 2011 and the only board member who was serving at the time of the China arrests - was the right person to lead Crown through the significant reforms needed to win back its Sydney casino licence.
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The VCGLR report says that Crown accepted some failings relating to the China arrests but they did “not go far enough”.
Crown still did not acknowledge that its risk management procedures were deficient;that there were more people in the company including directors who failed to act on red flags;and that there was the potential for conflicts of interest between Crown and its arrested staff,and its major shareholder James Packer,the report says.
A VCGLR compliance officer told the first day of hearings in Victoria’s Crown royal commission on Monday that thecasino giant’s executives lied to him during his investigation. Victoria’s royal commission will continue its public hearings on Tuesday.
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