Victorian royal commission ‘open’ to strip Crown of gaming licence, chair Coonan ‘not suitable’, probe told

Casino giant Crown could be stripped of its licence after it was blasted for leaving its business ‘wide open to exploitation’ from criminals.

Crown Resorts isn’t fit to hold a gaming licence after leaving itself “wide open to exploitation by money launderers in the past” and only made reforms “on the fly” when pressured by the damning NSW inquiry, the Victorian royal commission into the casino giant has been told.

The Victorian probe was sparked by shocking findings from last year’s NSW investigation – which uncovered evidence Crown had turned a blind eye to various forms of money laundering by high-roller Asian “junket” tours at its Perth and Melbourne venues – and on Tuesday heard scathing closing submissions by counsel assisting Adrian Finanzio.

Mr Finanzio noted Crown had only provided the NSW investigation with reports from independent audits two days before its conclusion, conceding at the last minute there was evidence of likely money laundering and drawing the ire of Commissioner Patricia Bergin.

And even then it limited the audits to its Riverbank (Perth) and Southbank (Melbourne) bank accounts, he said.

They were “curbed by the limited instructions” from Crown, which had grounds to suspect money laundering went beyond those bank accounts, Mr Finanzio said.

Commissioner Ray Finkelstein has made comments throughout the proceedings questioning Crown’s ability to redeem itself. Picture: David Crosling / NCA NewsWire

That Crown did not conduct a wholesale review, despite being encouraged by advisers and financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC, was telling.

“Crown was trying to hide or minimise the true extent of the problem,” Mr Finanzio said.

“Crown did not prioritise any investigation into the allegations … at any time and really only acted when it became untenable in the context of the Bergin inquiry.”

He also took aim at Crown’s fractious relationship with the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, saying it misled the regulator, withholding documents that should have been produced earlier.

Other chief failings included breaching its responsible gambling laws that allowed problem punters to keep playing for more than 12 hours at a time, which had a significant impact on the community including financial hardship, forced prostitution “and in some cases even suicide”.

“They together underscore, along with the legislative requirement to actually do this properly, the importance of the issue,” Mr Finanzio said.

He questioned the company’s commitment to change, saying it had made reforms “on the fly”, was currently in “a sorry state of preparedness” to deal with money laundering risks “and it will take some time to rectify that situation”.

The NSW regulator ultimately deemed Crown unsuitable to hold a casino licence for its new $2.2bn Sydney venue, which is currently only running non-gaming operations. Picture: Nikki Short / NCA NewsWire

“Crown has failed woefully to adequately address key risks of money laundering,” he said.

“At present, that is right now, Crown is not at a level to combat money laundering at a level which is to be expected of the operator of a casino as sophisticated as Crown.

“It is according to its (own) evidence, only at early stage of maturity.”

Crown’s ambitious reform program, even on the most favourable estimates, won’t be completed before the end of 2022, he said.

“There are considerable risks that the work will take much longer,” Mr Finanzio said.

He also lashed Crown’s chair, Helen Coonan, who survived a massive board purge in the wake of the NSW inquiry findings, saying she showed “a stunning lack of curiosity” when money laundering concerns emerged in May 2019.

While she should be commended for staying the course and leading the reform program, her inaction in the past clearly contributed to Crown’s problems and it was open to the commission to find her “not a suitable associate” of the company, Mr Finanzio said.

Crown’s chair, Helen Coonan, showed ‘a stunning lack of curiosity’ when money laundering concerns emerged in May 2019, counsel assisting said. Picture: Supplied

He said the same finding could be made for Crown Melbourne’s chief executive, Xavier Walsh, who “did not distinguish himself at the time or since as a person able to recognise or willing to address or escalate issues of importance or lead change”.

“He has not risen to the occasion,” Mr Finanzio said.

Crown had lost public confidence and it was open to the commission to strip the company of its Victorian gaming licence, he said.

“This misconduct or poor conduct has occurred over a long period of time and signs of it are still present.

“On balance, it would be open for the commission to find that it is not in the public interest for Crown to retain the licence.”

Crown said in a statement to the ASX it was preparing its closing submissions, which will be delivered on August 3.

Findings are expected by October 15.

The second phase of a separate royal commission in Perth begins next week.

Originally published as Victorian royal commission ‘open’ to strip Crown of gaming licence, chair Coonan ‘not suitable’, probe told