According to industry sources, Australian billionaire James Packer had already established a blind trust to hold his 36% stake in Crown Resorts after an inquiry into the gambling operator’s business heard that the casino giant is unsuitable for its Barangaroo casino licence.
The beneficiaries of the blind trust do not know of the holdings of the trust. They are also not given permission to intervene in the holdings in any way. According to experts, there are definitely some red flags for Mr Packer and the future of his majority stake in the Australian casino giant, which currently has gambling licences in the states of Western Australia and Victoria has been planing a December opening of its Barangaroo casino in Sydney.
As Casino Guardian reported earlier this week, the regulatory inquiry has heard recommendations that Crown Resorts is not fit to hold a casino operating licence. Two reasons have been provided for the recommendation – its collaborative work with so-called junket operators linked to criminal organisations on one hand, and its failures to protect its China staff members at the time they were arrested in 2016, on the other hand.
Naomi Sharp, the counsel assisting, blamed Mr Packer for giving approval to the strategy that including a partnership with junket operators at the time he was Chairman of Crown Resorts. According to Ms Sharp, he had also set what she described as a “dubious” tone of putting financial benefits before everything else.
Mr Packer Unsuitable to Be Associated with Crown Resorts’ Casino Licence
The latest events have obviously sent clear signals to Mr Packer that he needs to distance himself from the Australian casino giant’s operations. A week ago, the gambling company eliminated its controlling shareholder protocol agreement that gave its billionaire investor unlimited access to all operations and finances of Crown Resorts.
Apart from everything else, the inquiry found Mr Packer to have sent threatening emails to a private executive, Ben Gray. These emails were among the main reasons why the billionaire investor was described as unfit to be in a close relationship with the casino licence held by Crown Resorts. For the time being, the content of these emails has not been publicly revealed but it was made clear that they were quite intimidating so that the executive considered hiring private security for his protection. It still remains unclear whether a further criminal investigation would start because of the full extent of the abuse.
Despite admitting he has sent the emails to the top executive, Mr Packer blamed his bipolar disorder for that. The recommendations heard by the inquiry regarding his suitability to be in close association with Crown’s casino licence goest to whether he is a person of good reputation and integrity under the existing gambling legislation in the state of New South Wales (NSW).
According to experts, such a step could have made a difference had the company undertaken it a year ago. However, Crown seems to be taking the step a little too late, making it look like a decision taken only to defuse its ongoing troubles.
- Author
Olivia Cole
