A few days after Star Entertainment chief executive Robbie Cooke resigned, the gaming giant’s chairman, David Foster, headed for Kuala Lumpur. He was there to reassure major shareholders that Cooke’s exit – along with the departure of chief financial officer Christina Katsibouba – was no indication that things were going seriously awry.

Whatever Foster said to Far East Consortium’s billionaire chairman, David Chiu, bought him time. Between them, Far East and Chow Tai Fook, two Hong Kong-based firms, own almost 8 per cent of Star. That time ran out on Monday morning, when an inquiry into the company’s flagship Sydney casino revealed in excruciating detail the breakdown in the all-important relationship between management and regulators.