Star Entertainment CEO Matt Bekier quits amid damning allegations at casino inquiry
Star Entertainment boss Matt Bekier has resigned amid explosive revelations about the gaming group’s anti-money laundering practices.
Star Entertainment chief executive Matt Bekier will immediately stand down from the company’s board but keep his management position until a replacement is found – despite revelations about the level of money laundering at the gaming giant.
In a statement to the ASX, Star said Mr Bekier would cease his director duties but stay on in an operational role to “transition his executive responsibilities in an orderly manner”. The swiftness of his resignation is said to have surprised board members over the weekend. Ken Barton, the former chief executive of rival Crown Resorts, waited until after the end of a similar NSW government inquiry into the company – and even then resisted calls to step aside.
The resignation comes a week aft the inquiry heard Mr Bekier slammed an independent KPMG report into Star – which exposed “fundamental deficiencies” in the group’s anti-money laundering program – at a hostile meeting in May 2018. The inquiry also heard that when he was later asked why Chinese junket operator Suncity was still allowed at Star – despite repeatedly flouting money-laundering controls and having known links to organised crime – Mr Bekier replied: “Why not?”
This was despite Suncity – which has links to Chinese triads – running “a casino within a casino”, with backpacks of cash being exchanged for chips in a VIP gaming salon, breaking state laws.
Last October, Star denied allegations that it was no better than scandal-plagued rival Crown, but outlined a list of efforts to combat money laundering.
These included the rollout of facial recognition technology in Queensland aft it was installed at its Sydney casino. “I want to make it clear – The Star is committed to a culture of compliance, and to the extent improvements in controls or practices are identified, we will act on them,” Mr O’Neill said at the time.
The company’s former chief risk officer, Paul McWilliams, told the Bell inquiry last week that Mr Bekier attended a “tense” audit committee meeting on May 23, 2018, where the KPMG review was discussed.
“It started with Mr Bekier arriving, he was last into the room, making a show and throwing onto the table what I assume to be this report – or the extract or an executive summary of this report – and saying ‘I haven’t seen this’,” Mr McWilliams said.
“And then the discussion was along the lines of … ‘how could the report be prepared in this way?’
“ (Mr Bekier said) it contained multiple errors, that KPMG didn’t know what they were doing. (The meeting) was very tense. I certainly felt like I was under a lot of pressure … for putting up a report directors took such exception to.” At a subsequent meeting with KPMG, Mr McWilliams said Mr Bekier “wasn’t at his best”, describing him as in “a sulk”.
“It proved to be a difficult meeting. And it just presented as quite an unprofessional demeanour, of having brought in people from outside to try and address the specific concerns,” he said.
KPMG partner Alexander Graham said Mr Bekier “berated” him and his colleague Jeff O’Sullivan at that meeting.
“I recall the CEO turning over pages (in the report) pointing to things saying, ‘this is wrong’, turning the page, doing that for a sustained period of time, and we tried to understand what the specific points of what the CEO believed was wrong, and we just weren’t getting the details,” he said.
The inquiry heard Star issued Suncity with two warning letters in 2018 after it was found to be operating a “pseudo cage”, exchanging bundles of cash from black backpacks for casino chips, breaking money laundering laws.
But rather than issue a third strike against Suncity, the staff of which were “unhelpful and evasive”, Star management renewed its agreement with the junket operator in June 2018. Then in August 2019, Star said it had reached a “mutual decision” to terminate its agreement with Suncity regarding the exclusive use of gaming salon 95 in an email circulated among senior management.
“What in fact happened is Suncity simply moved its operations to salon 82,” counsel assisting the inquiry Naomi Sharp SC said, adding that the new salon contained no Suncity branding.
“When asked … why the Star was still using Suncity (Star chief executive) Matt Bekier replied ‘Why not?’.”
This followed Star’s assistant treasurer and former treasurer saying the casino operator concealed more than $1bn worth of highly suspicious banking transactions from NAB, contrary to anti-money laundering laws.
Star’s board said it accepted Mr Bekier’s resignation. “Mr Bekier’s decision follows issues raised in the public hearings in connection with the review of The Star Sydney being undertaken by Mr Adam Bell SC,” the board said.
“While the review remains ongoing, Mr Bekier informed the board that as managing director and CEO he is accountable for the effectiveness and adequacy of the company’s processes, policies, people and culture.
“Mr Bekier said the right thing to do was for him to take responsibility. Mr Bekier will step down from the board immediately, and will work with the board to transition his executive responsibilities in an orderly manner.
“Mr Bekier’s final departure date is yet to be determined.
“The Star will make a further announcement once these arrangements have been finalised.
On Saturday, The Weekend Australian revealed the nation’s financial intelligence agency conducted an extensive compliance audit of Star’s Sydney casino while officials were engaging in illegal gambling transactions but failed to uncover the impropriety.
The only matters raised by Austrac included trivial matters such as the wording of policies concerning customer verification for a gambling payout.
Mr Bekier was appointed CEO in November 2015. He was previously chief finance officer and executive director. Before joining Star, he served as Tabcorp’s CFO from late 2005 til 2011. Mr Bekier has also worked for McKinsey.
The inquiry continues.
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