Peter Costello and James Chessell, executives at Nine Entertainment, turned down accusations that were made in an email correspondence of the former executive chairman and major investor of Crown Resorts, James Packer, and leaked after a joint investigation piece of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes unveiling money laundering and other failures of the Australian gambling giant’s casinos.
As reported by the Australian Financial Review, in the series of emails sent in June and July by Mr Packer to executives for Nine Entertainment and some journalists, the Crown Resorts’ former executive chairman claimed that Peter Costello worked as for him as a Crown Resorts’ secret lobbyist who tried to get closer to the country’s Minister for Energy and Resources, Consumer Affairs and Gaming in the period from December 2010 to March 2013, Michael O’Brien. Furthermore, James Packer claimed that Mr Costelo received an AU$300,000 payment for these services.
In one of his emails addressed to Peter Costello, the ex-executive chairman of Crown Resorts blamed him for being “one of the biggest hypocrites” he had ever met and suggested that he should have resigned from his public positions.
The Nine Entertainment executive confirmed that he was indeed hired at the position of an advisor to the Packer-owned Consolidated Press Holdings for a 1-year period in 2011. He, however, denied the claims he had been a lobbyist for the Australian gambling giant. He was backed by former minister Michael O’Brien, who claimed that he was never lobbied by Mr Costello on behalf of Crown Resorts or another business.
Nine Entertainment’s Executive Says There Was No Involvement in the Investigation into Crown Resorts’ Operations
After The Australian published the erratic correspondence of James Packer, the managing director of publishing at Nine Entertainment, James Chessell, addressed the company’s employees in an email assuring them that Peter Costello was never involved in the investigation into the alleged connections of Crown Resorts with Chinese junket operators and criminal organisations.
Mr Chessell shared that he had never heard from Mr Costello about “Crown Unmasked” before, during, or after the aforementioned publication.
Apart from that, he further noted that he tried to engage with the former executive chairman of the Australian gambling giant, which was recently acquired by the US private equity group Blackstone, after receiving the first emails but his efforts were unsuccessful. Furthermore, the stated that he has stayed away from making any public commentary on James Packer’s correspondence because of the mental health issues he has been experiencing in the last few years. Mr Packer himself has publicly confessed that he is dealing with bipolar disorder.
Although the former Crown Resorts’ biggest shareholder personally attacked Chessel, the managing director of publishing at Nine Entertainment wished him all the best and said he remained hopeful that Mr Packer will eventually reconcile with the article, called “Crown Unmasked”, which he actually praised, along with journalist Nick McKenzie who wrote the article in the first place.
- Author
Daniel Williams
