The representative body for clubs registered in NSW, ClubsNSW, told the judge that the ‘oppressive’ campaign of its former employee Troy Stolz is obstructing justice. The clubs organization complained about the pokies whistleblower’s campaign, calling it “inflammatory” and asked the court to prevent Stolz from further denigrating ClubsNSW.
As reported by Guardian Australia last month, ClubsNSW asked for a federal order to prevent its former employee, Troy Stolz, from exposing any details about the group’s conduct or motives. Stolz is the former anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial manager for the lobby group and is currently being sued by ClubsNSW for breaching its confidence.
Pokies Whistleblower Exposes Pubs and Clubs Across NSW Failing to Comply with Money Laundering Laws
Last month, the former employee of ClubsNSW spoke publicly about numerous clubs and pubs in the state of NSW not complying with the imposed money laundering regulations. This became the reason for the lobby group to take instantaneous actions, suing Stolz for breaching confidence.
ClubsNSW asks for its former employee to be stopped from speaking with any news outlet or even making public statements across any media platforms about the lobby group’s conduct. While, last year, Stolz exposed the failure of the gambling sector to prevent money laundering schemes through its pokies, ClubsNSW claims he did that in breach of the group’s confidence.
Stolz has been public about the failures of pubs and clubs across the state and has expressed his opinion via tweets, retweets, and talks to different media outlets. He even started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help him properly defend himself in court against ClubsNSW.
ClubsNSW Accusing Stolz of Feeding the Media False Narrative
On Monday, the lobby group’s lawyers accused Stolz of portraying a false narrative, blaming his former employer for pursuing him to blow the whistle on the sector’s money laundering issues. According to Stolz, his ex-employer was trying to divert the media’s attention from its failures in complying with money laundering laws.
According to Christopher Withers SC, Stolz’s campaign was hindering the administration of justice and he would continue to bash the lobby group unless he is stopped by the court. Withers also quoted numerous denigrating messages ClubsNSW had received after Stolz made public comments on the case. Withers also noted that the GoFundMe campaign launched by Stolz and his tweets and retweets further supported the former employee’s false narrative.
Stolz Lawyers Argue His Public Comments Have No Impact on ClubsNSW Case
While ClubsNSW is seeking to stop Stolz from publicly commenting on the lobby group’s conduct, Geoffrey Watson SC, representing Stolz, argued that the public opinion prompted by the pokies whistleblower’s actions will not have any effect on the case. Watson also said that Stolz had voluntarily removed a section of his GoFundMe page description as it was considered as “crossing the line”.
The court was also notified about Stolz recently retweeting a tweet that was implying there was a conflict of interest in the court’s decision making. Withers agreed that this type of action was irresponsible and should be taken into consideration when the court is deciding on the injunction.
- Author
Daniel Williams
