A Federal Court judge is scheduled to deliver a ruling on the size of a financial penalty against The Star Entertainment Group over historical money laundering and counter-terrorism financing violations, The Nightly reported.
The Star submitted to the court that any penalty exceeding $100 million would send it into liquidation. AUSTRAC's position before the Federal Court was that the company committed serious, systemic failures in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations, warranting a $400 million penalty.
Over several years Star has been caught up in multiple scandals involving money laundering, infiltration by organised crime and governance failures, and has had its licences suspended. US gaming company Bally's Corp stepped in to prevent The Star from entering administration, with its chair Soo Kim subsequently taking on the same chair role at The Star. Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, Kim said the situation had stabilised and that rebuilding was now beginning, while noting that the large majority of customers had not been involved in wrongdoing and should be welcomed back.
Star Sydney was fined $10 million in June for regulatory breaches that included exceeding gaming time limits and inadequate vetting of patrons for criminal and terrorist connections. Former Star head Matthias Beikir received a $700,000 fine in June after he failed to bring to the board's attention suspicious conduct involving Chinese junket operator Suncity during 2018 and 2019.
A penalty large enough to force Star into administration or liquidation would put at risk the operations of its Sydney and Gold Coast casinos and its Brisbane casino, with flow-on effects for staff and customers.
Reporting: The Nightly
Background: SmartCompany, Business News Australia
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
