NSW Casino Control Act inquiry hears The Star ignored terrorism financing risk
An independent expert who unearthed “very serious” problems at The Star has told an inquiry the casino ignored its risk of financing terrorism.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Star did not have a legally required plan to prevent terrorism financing because a senior staff member had decided terrorism would not be funded through a casino, a royal commission-style inquiry has heard.
The independent expert who unearthed this and other “very serious” problems told the inquiry he and a KPMG colleague had endured a “berating” from The Star chief executive Matt Bekier over the findings.
The periodic inquiry under NSW’s Casino Control Act is investigating whether The Star remains fit to hold a licence.
On Tuesday, it heard evidence from KPMG partner Alexander Graham, who was engaged by The Star in 2017 to review the casino operator’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing procedures, required under federal law.
In May 2018, KPMG issued its final reports into The Star. The inquiry heard the reports found the casino operator did not “have an adequately documented money laundering and terrorism financing (MLTF) risk-assessment methodology on which its MLTF assessments have been performed … (and) applies a default customer MLTF risk rating of low that has not been adequately explained or documented.”
The inquiry heard a person who gambled hundreds of thousands of dollars was considered no greater risk of money laundering than another who gambled $500.
Counsel assisting the inquiry Casper Conde asked Mr Graham if that was a “very serious problem”.
Mr Graham replied: “Yes.”
KPMG’s reports found The Star did not even “consider terrorism financing risk” because the general manager of compliance Micheil Brodie “advised that terrorism financing would not generally be conducted through a casino”.
Mr Conde asked Mr Graham if he was aware of Mr Brodie having any “training or study or experience … which would allow him to give an authoritative view about how terrorists tend to conduct their financing operations.”
“No I wasn’t,” Mr Graham replied.
The inquiry has yet to hear evidence from Mr Brodie.
Mr Graham said he later attended a meeting with Mr Bekier to discuss the chief executive’s concerns with the reports. Mr Graham said that when he and his KPMG colleague entered the meeting room, “we weren’t greeted, there was no eye contact (and) we just sat down”.
He recalled Mr Bekier pointing to a page saying “this is wrong” then turning the page and saying “this is wrong”. This went on for a “sustained period of time”.
The chief executive was “essentially berating us for the whole entire time of that meeting”, Mr Graham said.
The inquiry continues.
China diplomat grills mayor over AUKUS submarine location
A top China diplomat used a meeting behind closed doors to grill a NSW mayor about the future location of AUKUS nuclear submarines, raising serious security questions.
The worst train lines in Sydney revealed
New Transport for NSW data reveals Sydney’s train network consistently failed to meet its punctuality targets every month of the last financial year.