Crown casino inquiry: James Packer says he won’t be on Crown board again
James Packer says he will never return to Crown’s board after admitting he was a key driving force in bringing casino junket operators into Australia despite “rumours” some were allegedly linked to Asian crime gangs.
NSW
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James Packer says he will never return to Crown’s board after admitting he was a key driving force in bringing casino junket operators into Australia despite “rumours” some were allegedly linked to Asian crime gangs.
The billionaire gaming mogul, 53, was grilled for a third and final day on Thursday before the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority’s inquiry and seemingly acknowledged he could be compelled to sell down his major shareholding in Crown Resorts so the company could keep its licence for its new Sydney development.
He said the past three days under the spotlight had been a “terribly painful and terribly shocking experience”.
The inquiry will rule on whether Crown’s new Barangaroo casino, which is due to open in December, remains suitable to hold a licence amid allegations of money-laundering and junket operators linked to organised crime.
The probe was told Mr Packer learnt of the significance of junkets in the promotion of VIP gaming in Macau when discussing a joint venture with a company called Melco.
Counsel assisting Naomi Sharp, QC, asked Mr Packer: “Is it correct to say you were one of the key driving forces in bringing in Macau junkets into Crown casinos in Australia?”
After a 22-second pause Mr Packer replied: “Yes”.
Ms Sharp then produced a report stating the Australian Federal Police had warned junkets presented an opportunity “for the injection of tainted funds at various entry points including the junket participants, the junket operators and a source in Australia”.
The barrister asked: “Since the earliest times of your involvement with Melco Crown, have you understood that a number of Macau casino junkets have links with organised crime?” to which Mr Packer replied “I’ve understood that there were rumours”.
However, Mr Packer said the VIP component was only one facet of Crown’s Sydney development along with local VIP guests, hotels and restaurants.
Mr Packer confirmed he had met with two junket operators including Alvin Chau in the past but stressed they were not “intimate relationships”.
Mr Chau is barred from entering Australia.
“I think I’ve met two, perhaps three, in my life — once, Mr Chau, Mr Song and I can’t remember who else.
“I do not and have never had intimate relationships with junket operators and junkets and I had nothing to do with the management or the running of those relationships,” he said.
Mr Packer told Commissioner Patricia Bergin he accepted the inquiry may force him to divest part of his 36 per cent stake in Crown when she hands down her recommendations over the Barangaroo development.
“I think there certainly shouldn’t be major shareholder provisions going forward,” Mr Packer said.
“I think that the Crown board has a lot to think about in terms of who the right people are for the right jobs.
“I think caps on shareholdings may be something that you’ll think about.
“I think this has been a terribly painful and terribly shocking experience for the board, as it has been for me.
“I won’t be going on the board again, I think the board will be more independent than it was in the past.”
Mr Packer, who appeared via video link from his luxury yacht in the South Pacific, has finished giving evidence but the inquiry continues.
Oct 7: Packer ‘forgot’ about ban on tycoon with alleged triad links
Billionaire James Packer says he was never told Crown staff were living in fear in China and that he “forgot” about a ban on dealing with a controversial gaming tycoon who had alleged links to triad gangs.
The former boss of Crown Resorts was on Wednesday grilled for hours on a second day of questioning via video link from his yacht in the South Pacific before the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority’s inquiry, which will determine the future of the new Barangaroo casino.
The probe is examining whether Crown remains suitable to hold a licence at the development after allegations surfaced of money-laundering and junket partnerships linked to organised crime.
The inquiry was told Chinese authorities launched a crackdown on foreign casinos luring Chinese citizens to gamble overseas in 2015.
Nineteen Crown employees working in China were later arrested by local authorities in October 2016.
Senior counsel assisting Adam Bell SC produced an internal email between two Crown staffers in March 2015 — more than a year before the arrests — in which one wrote the company’s Chinese team were “living in constant fear of getting tapped on the shoulder in a country where due process is inconsistently applied”.
Mr Packer, 53, told the inquiry the grave safety concerns for Crown’s staff in China were not passed onto him.
Commissioner Patricia Bergin asked him whether the Crown executives withheld the bad news because they didn’t want to displease him.
Mr Packer replied he was kept in the dark by his subordinates even though he “always wanted bad news”.
The inquiry was also triggered by the unsuccessful sale of part of Mr Packer’s stake in Crown, which he attempted to offload to Lawrence Ho’s Macau-based casino group Melco Resorts.
Mr Ho’s father was controversial gaming tycoon Stanley Ho, who US authorities had found could have had links to triad gangs before his death last May.
There is no suggestion his son has any of those links.
Mr Bell told the inquiry Crown had previously entered into agreements with the NSW regulator intended to prevent Stanley Ho of having an interest in any Crown resorts.
But Mr Packer said he had forgotten about those agreements when in talks with Melco.
“I’d forgotten that Mr Bell, I regarded Melco Resorts as Lawrence’s company, not Stanley’s,” he said.
Mr Bell said: “You just didn’t think about any regulatory agreements that Crown had with the NSW regulator at the time of this transaction?” to which Mr Packer replied: “I believe that would have been found in the legal preparation for the transaction”.
Mr Packer, whose boat is moored in the South Pacific, will return for a third day of grilling before the inquiry on Thursday.
He was originally only slated to appear for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon.
Oct 6: Packer admits threats, says he’s being treated for bipolar
Billionaire James Packer has admitted making “shameful” threats to a potential buyer of Crown Resorts and revealed he is being treated for bipolar disorder while giving bombshell evidence at a government inquiry.
The gaming mogul, 53, told the inquiry which will decide the fate of Crown’s Barangaroo casino that he has taken medication which impaired his ability to remember events while he was director of the company.
Mr Packer appeared via video link from his luxury mega-yacht IJE in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday for a grilling before the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority’s inquiry into Crown.
The investigation is looking into whether the company remains suitable to hold a casino licence at its high-roller Barangaroo development amid allegations of money-laundering and junket partnerships linked to organised crime.
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Senior counsel assisting Adam Bell, SC, told the inquiry Mr Packer had said in a statement he has suffered from “significant” health issues since 2016 and had been prescribed strong medication, which he remains taking.
“You say that you believe that this has impaired your ability to recall past events, including in relation to the period in which you were director of Crown Resorts, is that correct?” Mr Bell asked to which Packer replied: “That’s correct”.
Mr Packer was grilled over “shameful” and “disgraceful” emails he sent to someone only known as Mr X and admitted to making verbal threats to them while looking into a potential privatisation of Crown in 2015.
The inquiry was told Mr X was a representative of a mystery company Mr Packer was in discussions with about a proposed privatisation deal.
“You accept your conduct in these communications was shameful, do you?” Mr Bell asked.
Mr Packer replied “I do.”
And he agreed when Mr Bell asked whether he accepted his emails were “disgraceful”.
When asked how the NSW gaming regulator could have any confidence in his character in light of the emails, Mr Packer said “because I‘m being treated now for my bipolar”.
Mr Packer also told the inquiry that he agreed that he perceived in 2015 that increased investment in VIP international marketing in China was important for the success of the new VIP-only casino at Barangaroo, which was then in a planning stage.
However, he admitted that Crown having an unofficial office in Guangzhou – which he says he did not authorise – was “a significant failure” given it breached local Chinese law.
Commissioner Patricia Bergin said “it’s more than that isn’t it Mr Packer? … Mr Bell has asked you about the ethical conduct of the public company and it goes to the core of it, doesn’t it?”.
He replied “Madam Commissioner, I accept it’s a serious failure”.
Mr Packer, who resigned from Crown‘s board in 2018 but remains its largest shareholder, toured the construction site of the new Sydney casino – which is due to open in December – with his model girlfriend Kylie Lim and his mother Ros last January.
The intensely private Mr Packer, who has bought a $60 million private penthouse apartment in the new Barangaroo skyscraper, has largely kept out of the spotlight recently and lived overseas while dealing with mental health issues following the breakdown of his relationship with singer Mariah Carey in 2016.
The probe into Crown’s Sydney development was also sparked by the unsuccessful sale of part of Mr Packer’s stake in the company, which he attempted to sell to Macau-based casino group Melco Resorts.