Marlene Kairouz, Victoria’s Minister for Customer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, asked the state’s gambling regulator to re-examine the allegations against Crown Resorts aired by local media earlier this week. Australia’s biggest entertainment and gaming operation faces accusations of illicit activities like money laundering and connections to organized crime.
The gaming minister confirmed her department is also to evaluate the regulations imposed on gambling operators that offer junket casino trips to Chinese high rollers. Australia’s media network Nine has linked some of these junket VIP players to the Triad organized crime syndicates.
The minister of gambling told local media the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) offers its full co-operation to the investigation. Kairouz confirmed the regulator is to review the allegations against Crown and get back to her with a report as soon as possible.
Minister Kairouz also demanded her department to examine the regulations on junket gambling operators jointly with the Commission. She invited everyone who has information that might help the investigation to come forward and share it with the authorities.
Crown Faces a Number of Serious Allegations
Australia’s largest gaming group has been under fire since this past Saturday when the local media network Nine unveiled reports accusing Crown in laundering money through junket operations. The network pointed the controversial billionaire Huang Xiangmo and Ming Chai, cousin of China’s president, as some of Crown’s high rollers.
Huang Xiangmo, in particular, has fed millions to the two main political parties Down Under. The Australian authorities stripped the political donor of his permanent residency in February 2019. The media network added fuel to the fire by alleging a junket operator of Crown’s is wanted by Interpol and has been involved in illegal hunting in Victoria.
Things quickly escalated for Crown when independent politician Andrew Wilkie aired a statement made by one of Crown’s former drivers. The driver alleged the gambling giant’s high rollers were not subjected to proper border checks. The VIPs entered the country on board of Crown’s private jets, he claimed.
Victoria’s gaming regulator reviewed Crown’s Melbourne casino in 2018 and found twenty serious issues with its operations, including the risk of money laundering. The gambling operator was given until the 1st of July 2019 to fix nine of the most serious problems.
Some of the requirements include the upgrade of the casino’s risk management systems, the introduction of facial recognition at the Melbourne venue’s entrances, and the implementation of adequate policies that would keep criminally charged individuals out of the casino’s floors. Australian media revealed yesterday that Crown is yet to satisfy all requirements of the regulatory body.
The gambling operator publicly denied any wrongdoings and insisted that the accusations of the media network Nine are simply attempts to undermine Crown’s image. Earlier this week, Attorney General Christian Porter referred Crown’s investigation to Australia’s Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity. Minister Kairouz is expecting her department to finish with the Crown review within weeks.
- Author
Olivia Cole
