Star Entertainment sat on documents about suspicious China Union Pay transactions

Star Entertainment execs will have to produce statutory declarations about why they waited over a month to produce key documents about China Union Pay transactions.

Star Entertainment produced three documents midway through the testimony of its group counsel Oliver White. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

Star Entertainment has received a rebuke from the head of a royal commission-style inquiry into the group for withholding documents relating to questionable transactions for more than a month.

Adam Bell SC, who is heading the review, has ordered Star executives to produce statutory declarations about why they waited until Wednesday – when its general counsel was giving evidence – to produce three key documents.

“It’s extremely disruptive to the work of this review to be receiving documents that would have been provided much earlier in the midst of an examination,” Mr Bell told Star’s lawyer, Kate Richardson. “I think it’s appropriate during the circumstances that those instructing you provide me with a statutory declaration explaining why these documents were not produced in answer to that summons.”

Mr Bell is heading the review to determine Star’s suitability to keep its NSW casino licence.

The disruption came as the general counsel, Simon White, conceded that a “workaround” he proposed to allow cashed-up Chinese gamblers play at its Sydney casino appears to have broken the law myriad times.

Star general counsel Oliver White suggested granting a temporary cheque-cashing facility to Chinese gamblers using Union Pay cards to overcome laws banning the provision of credit at NSW casinos.

This was despite telling Star’s former chief executive – then chief financial officer – Matt Bekier and his predecessor John Redmond, in a memo in February 2014, that it was unlikely the NSW gaming regulator would approve or investigate the proposal.

The workaround allowed Star to immediately issue patrons with gambling chips before funds used from China Union Pay cards cleared into the casino’s account, which took up to 72 hours.

Mr White said he understood the counter cheque Star issued to the China bank that issued the Union Pay card was “valid”, despite conceding that it was unlikely it would be honoured.

This meant the Star was effectively granting credit to patrons, which is against NSW laws, the inquiry was told on Wednesday.

“On each occasion in which a temporary check was issued, it would be a breach of section 74 (of the casino control act)?” Mr Bell asked Mr White.

“I understand that, yes,” Mr White replied.

“My understanding was that this was a valid check that could be presented but was unlikely to be honoured. But the CUP transaction had already been approved and that therefore the funds would arrive … (so it was) extremely unlikely that the cheque would be banked.”

In documents produced later on Wednesday, Mr White wrote in November 2016 that the VIP gambler use of CUP cards was “sensitive” and asked that a receipt that had “CUP front money” listed be changed to “standard wording” to “transferred to the customer’s Star account”.