Crown execs at odds on drug dealer cash transfer

Crown only alerted the federal transaction monitoring service Austrac a year after the transaction took place.

Crown’s vice president of international customer services, Veng Anh, requested the transfer of money to drug trafficker and nightclub operator Nan Hu in January 2017. Picture: AAP

A Crown Resorts vice president has contradicted the evidence given by the company’s chief legal officer about a suspect $500,000 transfer from an account at the casino’s Perth property, to a Melbourne nightclub owner who had never played at the property and pleaded guilty to drug trafficking offences.

Crown’s vice president of international customer services, Veng Anh, requested the transfer of money to drug trafficker and nightclub operator Nan Hu in January 2017 from the Zhou Qiang junket account linked to Crown high-roller agent Tom Zhou, who earlier this year was arrested and extradited to China for suspected money laundering and corruption.

It has been reported that the ultimate beneficiary of the $500,000 was the Ma heroin syndicate, an Australian-Chinese organised crime group operating out of Melbourne.

Appearing before the public inquiry into Crown on Friday, Mr Anh said the transfer was approved by Jacinta Maguire, Crown’s Group General Manager International Business Operations, who had raised concerns about it with him.

Mr Anh said he told Ms Maguire Mr Hu was a friend of Zhou Qiang, relying on information given to him by an in-house representative for the junket.

But pressed by Counsel Assisting Naomi Sharp SC on whether he had personal knowledge of the relationship between Mr Hu and the junket operator, Mr Anh said he simply relied on the advice of the representative.

He said he could not recall the representative’s name and only knew Mr Hu as “an acquaintance” after frequenting the now closed Heaven nightclub in Melbourne’s Chinatown district, which was run by Mr Hu and visited regularly by Crown high rollers including Mr Zhou.

“I wasn’t vouching, I was relaying the message on. I wasn’t vouching for anyone,’’ Mr Anh said.

His comments contradict those made by Crown’s chief legal officer Joshua Preston earlier in the week, who told the inquiry he understood Mr Anh was “vouching for the nature of the relationship between Mr Zhou and Mr Hu.”

Mr Anh said he did not know Mr Hu had pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in 2016 when he made the request to Ms McGuire.

“I did not do anything wrong. I did everything by the book. I seek the approval of my senior. I did what I was supposed to do operationally,’’ Mr Anh said.

The transaction was subsequently investigated by the Western Australian gaming regulator in October and November 2017.

It was also revealed at the inquiry that Mr Anh was also asked by a Cage staff member to provide address, date of birth and third party relationship details for Mr Hu to satisfy anti-money laundering requirements. He replied in an email: “He is a good friend with Zhou Qiang.”

Asked if he should he have been alert to the potential for the transaction to be a case of money laundering, he replied: “Possibly so but I followed my instruction.”

“It was not my authority to judge anyone. It is not my role to judge their call.”

He said he had received anti-money laundering training is his role.

After the incident was reported in the media in February this year, Mr Anh said he was interviewed by one of Crown’s solicitors about the issue, but was not subjected to any disciplinary action.

He is now one of thousands of Crown staff who have been stood down from their roles after the company’s casinos were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crown only alerted the federal transaction monitoring service Austrac a year after the transaction took place and after the inquiries by the WA regulator.

Earlier in the week Mr Preston acknowledged to the inquiry that investigation by the WA regulator was “unusual” but admitted he had never spoken to Mr Anh about the transaction or his relationship with Mr Hu, Mr Qiyan or Mr Zhou.

He said there was no internal investigation by Crown into the incident during 2018 and 2019 and that during 2020 it had only been part of a broader inquiry by Crown’s lawyers into the media allegations against the company.

He confirmed there had been no disciplinary action against Mr Anh.

But Mr Preston denied turning a blind eye to the episode.

The inquiry is expected to continue next week.