Dirty dollars: How Australia’s casino industry became so rotten
Weak regulators, a profit at all costs culture, and an attempt by Beijing to clamp down on gamblers’ foreign spending have all fed Star’s misconduct.
One autumn day in 2015, billionaire property developer Philip Dong Fang Lee strode into The Star’s Pyrmont casino complex, with its luxury shops and high-end restaurants, and to its VIP gambling area.
The high roller – who is being pursued by the Australian Taxation Office – handed over one of his 20 China UnionPay cards. Star’s hotel lobby staff swiped the card 12 times, each transaction totalling $990,000, just below the maximum allowed on National Australia Bank terminals.
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