Careers on the road as The Star inquiry calls first witnesses

The reputations and careers of key executives at on line casino large The Star Entertainment Group might be on the road when a royal commission-style inquiry begins interviewing witnesses subsequent week to probe allegations of cash laundering and poor governance on the firm’s Sydney on line casino.

Among the witness record is Chinese billionaire Phillip Dong Fang Lee, who was a high-roller at The Star Sydney.

The calling of Mr Lee suggests the fee’s inquiry into The Star Sydney’s health to carry a on line casino licence will look at the extremely controversial apply of permitting Chinese excessive rollers to withdraw playing funds utilizing particular Chinese bank cards.

It has been prompt Mr Lee is considered one of The Star patrons who was provided use of this technique to withdraw massive quantities of playing funds, however there is no such thing as a suggestion Mr Lee was laundering cash or concerned in felony exercise. Multiple sources, conscious of the inquiry’s focus, informed this masthead the road of investigation will give attention to whether or not Mr Lee used the “China Union Pay system” to maneuver funds from China to Australia to buy property.

It is alleged the apply concerned disguising playing exercise as resort bills and was created to sidestep Chinese authorities capital flight legal guidelines and should have additionally breached Australian cash laundering tips.

The fee is headed by Adam Bell, SC, the counsel helping the Bergin Inquiry which in 2020 examined cash laundering, felony infiltration and governance failings at The Star’s rival Crown Resorts.

That inquiry dominated Crown was unfit to carry the licence for its new Sydney on line casino, which is but to open greater than a yr later, throwing the James Packer-backed group into chaos and triggering a mass exodus from its senior government staff and board.

Mr Bell’s witness record will even have two former Star executives, Paul McWilliams and Tarnya O’Neil, who commissioned an explosive inner report by audit agency KPMG that warned The Star in 2018 it was failing to fight cash laundering.

That report was made public by The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes late final yr, in an investigation that reported allegations of The Star’s facilitation of cash laundering and poor governance practices, and led to NSW’s Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority launching the Bell Inquiry.