By Colin Kruger
Former Star Entertainment chief executive Matt Bekier has denied giving the Federal Court false evidence in relation to when he received a damning report into the casino operator’s Chinese gambling partner, Suncity.
Dr Ruth Higgins, SC, who is acting for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), challenged Bekier’s evidence that he had asked for a copy of the Hong Kong Jockey Club report in August 2019 – when it was first reported on in the media – but did not receive it.
Former Star chairman John O’Neill and ex-chief executive Matt Bekier are facing civil penalty cases brought by ASIC.Credit: James Alcock
The Hong Kong report stated that Suncity and its boss, Alvin Chau, posed “tangible criminal ... reputational risks” for the club.
“You know that the evidence you gave his honour is false. That’s correct, isn’t it?” Higgins asked Bekier on Wednesday.
“No, it’s not,” Bekier replied.
Higgins told the court that Bekier had provided a false account of when he asked Star executive Angus Buchanan for the report – and what was said. Buchanan had previously worked for the Hong Kong club and was an author of the report.
“That is the best of my recollection today,” Bekier replied when asked again on Wednesday if his evidence was false.
Bekier said he was not actually provided with a copy of the report until 2021/22 when preparing for the first Bell inquiry. That inquiry stripped Star of its licence to operate a casino amid claims of “sham” documentation, notorious VIP junket operators running a casino within the casino and an executive culture that placed profits over probity.
It was Bekier’s first appearance in the civil proceedings between ASIC and 10 former Star board members and executives for breaching their duty to act with care and diligence.
Star Entertainment is expected to collapse this week if it cannot access fresh funding as the financial repercussions of the alleged breaches by this group of directors overwhelmed its current management.
In earlier hearings, Higgins told the court that the amount of information available to Bekier and other executives at the time, which should have triggered probity concerns about Suncity, was “genuinely overwhelming”.
Bekier told the court on Wednesday that he and then-chairman John O’Neill attended a meeting with the casino’s regulator, the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA), following the reports of criminal associations and money laundering risks at its rival Crown Resorts.
He noted that ILGA chair Philip Crawford praised the regulator’s relationship with Star.
“Mr Crawford basically said, ‘Look, I like meeting with you, but I’m not sure we need to because I feel like we’ve got a good relationship with Star,’” Bekier told the court.
He confirmed that the Crown allegations, and implications for Star and its relationship with affected parties, were a significant focus for Star’s board meetings at the time.
“I have a sense that we discussed everything that was known to us about Suncity,” he told the court.
Star Entertainment was suspended from trading on Monday over its failure to lodge financial statements for the December half-year and may not trade again if its lenders fail to agree to a deal that gives the casino operator fresh funding.
Star’s board has not been able to sign off on the accounts as the group has been unable to secure financing to ensure it won’t run out of cash as early as this week.
Bekier is back before the court on Thursday.
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