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Crown Resorts Risk It All By Sending Funds To Known Drug Trafficker
By Shane Addinall Feb 26, 2020 IndustryCan Australia's Crown Resorts save their Crown Sydney casino licence? Or will the latest news of an illicit AU$500,000 cash transfer to a drug trafficker with connections to the Ma heroin syndicate bring down their house of cards?Australia-based Crown Resorts is having first-hand experience of the old adage “when it rains it pours” as they face yet another scandal that could further jeopardise their standing with the New South Wales (NSW) Gaming Regulators.
First It Rained…
In order to secure the necessary approvals and licences to launch Crown’s Sydney casino, the company agreed to the NSW stipulation that they do not do business with Macau’s King of Gambling, Stanley Ho, over ongoing investigations into his connections with organised crime syndicates. The resorts troubles began when a Crown-Melco deal was announced in 2014. Melco is owned by Lawrence Ho, Stanley Ho’s son.
It was later revealed, through a joint effort between the Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, that two corporate accounts created by Crown for the purposes of allowing Junket Partners to process VIP player deposits between 2012-2016 were, in fact, being funded by Chinese and Mexican drug cartels as a way to legitimise their ill-gotten gains.
“Taking cash and putting it through a casino and hopefully turning that into some level of winnings, or at least the ability to make it look like it was winnings – that’s money laundering 101.”
2016 was also the year that 18 Crown staff members were arrested in China for promoting their Macau junkets on the Chinese mainland, after being warned by the Chinese government not to do so. Those arrested included the resorts Head of International VIP operations, Jason O’Connor and their Director of International VIP marketing, Jerry Xuan.
And Then It Poured!
Intent on keeping their noses clean Crown Resorts has only had to deal with the usual issues any large business does in the current era of social media such as accusations of racial profiling by an irate Australian NBA star Ben Simmons after being denied access to the casino floor. While he cried racism, it has been reported that his camo cargo pants violated clear dress code requirements and the claim has since faded into obscurity.
While trying to prove to regulators that Crown Resorts is stable and trustworthy licence holder The Sydney Morning Herald broke the story of how Crown is guilty of transferring somewhere in the region of €300,000 (AU$500,000) to Nan Hu, a known drug trafficker with ties to the Melbourne’s Ma heroin cartel.
Veng Anh, vice president of Crown’s international operations, authorised the large transfer to Han Hu personally and failed to comply with the 3-day reporting window required for any transaction greater than €6,000 (AU$10,000) by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). The transaction was confirmed more than 18 months later when regulators asked for an accounting of the funds.
Which Way Will The Wind Blow?
Could this final unveiling of an ongoing attitude of disregard for law and order, in favour of short-term profits, be the undoing of Crown Resorts in New South Wales? Only time will tell which way the regulators will lean, but the sky is thick with clouds and this storm could be far from over.
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