High-stakes probe into James Packer’s Crown to resume following COVID-19 delay
The inquiry originally was expected to call James Packer and Lawrence Ho to give evidence.
A high-stakes inquiry into Crown Resorts and its suitability to operate its casino under construction at Barangaroo will resume immediately after it was halted by the coronavirus crisis for the past two months.
But the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority has narrowed the scope of the probe after the death of Hong Kong gambling tycoon Stanley Ho and his Melco Entertainment selling its entire stake in the listed Australian casino group.
The inquiry - which at one stage was expected to see James Packer and Mr Ho’s son Lawrence Ho give evidence, despite the pair never receiving a formal invitation - is now deemed safe to continue.
“After carefully considering the current COVID-19 situation, and Commonwealth and NSW government advice and restrictions, the authority considers it safe and practicable to resume the inquiry’s work,” ILGA said in a statement on Wednesday.”
The NSW Liquor & Gaming inquiry, among many things, was tasked with examining whether the planned buyout of the Crown stake by Mr Ho’s Melco raised probity issues. But ILGA dumped that part of the probe on Wednesday.
The inquiry, which Patricia Bergin SC will head, will still examine Crown’s suitability to hold a licence for the $2.4bn Crown Sydney development in Barangaroo, which is due to open in December.
In February, Mr Ho abandoned plans to acquire a 19.9 per cent stake in Crown from Mr Packer’s private investment vehicle Consolidated Press Holdings for about $1.76bn over two tranches.
In April, Mr Ho sold out of Crown all together, selling is 9.9 per cent stake to private equity giant Blackstone, saying he wanted to focus on his core markets in Macau, The Philippines and Cyprus as well as Melco’s efforts to win a Japanese gaming licence, rather than pursue plans to expand his casino empire to Australia.
ILGA noted Mr Ho’s decision to sell out of Crown and said it would make the necessary adjustments to the inquiry.
Already high drama has engulfed the probe, and that’s been outside the witness dock. Earlier this year Melco attempted to derail the inquiry, lobbing an 11th hour challenge to the NSW gaming regulator, claiming it was overstepping its powers.
The legal challenge appeared to succeed, with the Supreme Court siding with Melco. But the victory was short-lived.
The NSW Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the landmark judgment that limited the powers of the inquiry into Crown’s casino operations after finding the judge “erred” in her decision.
Three appeal judges found that NSW Supreme Court judge Christine Adamson had misread the relevant legislation with her ruling that the inquiry did not have the full powers of a royal commission.
Stanley Ho, the founder of Macau’s gaming industry, died last month aged 98.
More Coverage
Scandals, takeovers, Swiftenomics: 2024 was a year to remember
The good, the bad and the ugly – 2024 was an eventful year for investors. We look back on the stories which made headlines and broke hearts.
New native title nightmare for miners
Mining companies are alarmed by an expectation they sign expensive new native title agreements with royalty payments to groups asserting traditional ownership over resources-rich WA.