Crown Resorts’ high roller visas tainted by fraud

There were ‘significant levels of fraud’ in visa applications made by Chinese citizens to visit the Australian casinos, an inquiry has heard.

Media reports last year said Crown had a special arrangement with the Australian government that gave Chinese high rollers access to fast-tracked Australian visas. Picture: Hollie Adams/Getty Images)

Crown Resorts was warned back in 2010 by a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) official that there were “significant levels of fraud” in visa applications made by Chinese citizens to visit its Australian casinos, an inquiry has heard.

The high-powered inquiry reviewing the events leading up to the arrest of Crown’s staff in China in October 2016 was told the DFAT official informed Crown that very few of the applicants it had sponsored for visa applications to visit its resorts were part of a high-roller scheme.

“It appears that Crown has become a visa agent lodging for travel operators and junket agents. We continue to see significant levels of fraud in the case load,’’ the company was told by the official, noting 10 per cent of the applications lodged by Crown had been refused.

“This does not represent a low level of risk,” the official added

Media reports last year said Crown had a special arrangement with the Australian government that gave Chinese high rollers access to fast-tracked Australian visas.

They also claimed Crown staff lobbied Australian officials to expedite the provision of hundreds of visas for junket operator, SunCity, which is accused of organised crime links.

Crown’s Australian Resorts chief executive Barry Felstead was asked on Wednesday about his meeting in October 2014 with SunCity’s promoter, Alvin Chau, at the opening of the junket operator’s VIP Room at Crown Melbourne.

Only weeks earlier serious allegations had been raised in the media about Mr Chau’s links to organised crime.

Questioned if he asked Mr Chau about the allegations at the opening, Mr Felstead replied: “I didn’t think to at the time.”

But he claimed Crown had done “more due diligence on Mr Chau than any other customer” and found nothing unlawful.

Mr Felstead was also asked about decisions by the major banks to shut down Crown bank accounts used by patrons to deposit and withdraw gambling money because of apparent large-scale money laundering.

Two shell companies and accounts, Riverbank Investments and Southbank Investments, were allegedly used for the transfers and Mr Felstead was a director of both entities.

While he said he was not aware of the accounts being used for money-laundering activities, he agreed he would think again before he took a directorship of such an entity in the future.

“I would probably take a very different approach,’’ he said.

The inquiry continues.