The second day of The Star inquiry was conducted on Tuesday, with the company’s former CEO, Matt Bekier, appearing before the NSW regulator. Bekier acknowledged that the casino failed to handle high-risk situations and follow regulations on several occasions.
The words that Bekier used to describe The Star were “secretive and not transparent”. He noted that the reason for The Star not being forthright in their interactions with the NSW regulator was the lack of trust the executives of the two organisations had in each other.
Bekier Admits to Approving Suspicious Debit, Claims He Was Unaware of Controversial Junket Ties
In 2019, Bekier reported to media outlets that The Star was putting an end to its business with Suncity. This statement was made despite Bekier knowing that the junket club was going to be using another private gaming room in the casino. During the Tuesday inquiry session, Bekier said he considered this step as The Star following due diligence requirements when it comes to the operations of Suncity. However, looking back on the case, the former CEO admitted that this “looked stupid”.
As CasinoGuardian had previously covered, the said private gaming room known as Salon 95, was managed by Suncity at The Star casino. The junket club was operating a cash service desk for players of the private gaming room without holding the licence for such operations. Huge amounts of cash were handled by the staff of the private gaming room, breaking anti-money laundering regulations.
In his defence, Bekier said he was unaware of the Hong Kong Jockey Club report that exposed Suncity and its boss, Alvin Chau, having ties to money laundering activities, triad gangs, as well as trafficking of drugs.
The Star’s former boss admitted to having approved an “extraordinary” withdrawal of more than $22 million. The extremely high sum was requested to be withdrawn by the billionaire Phillip Dong Fang Lee who asked for the money to be transferred to his China UnionPay card. Despite the unusually high amount, the property developer was not asked to go through a check of his source of funds, which is a standard anti-money laundering measure the casino is required to take.
Bekier also admitted to another “wrong decision” on his part, allowing a high roller to play at The Star casino, despite being warned about the said player being under investigation for money laundering. The former CEO also admitted he was aware of the practice of patrons avoiding swiping their cards at the casino cage and being allowed to do that at the hotel foyer instead.
The Star Was Not Transparent with NSW Regulator
Bekier admitted that The Star was not completely transparent with the NSW gambling regulator as the executives of the two bodies did not trust each other. The Star received a letter from the local regulator, being asked how will the casino company handle risks that may arise from their partnership with Suncity and Alvin Chau, following the information revealed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club report. Bekier acknowledged that the executives responsible for replying to the letter should have admitted they were aware of Chau and the junket club’s criminal activities.
Bekier admitted that The Star failed to reveal such important information to the regulator as the company was determined to “follow the letter not the spirit of the law”. The former boss of the casino admitted that such practices were not the way the company should have acted.
- Author
Olivia Cole
