WA announces terms for Crown royal commission
The West Australian government has set out the terms for the second of the two royal commissions that embattled gaming group Crown will face this year.
The West Australian government has unveiled the terms of the royal commission that will probe the suitability of Crown Resorts to run its Perth casino, the probe coming in the wake of the damning findings about the company’s operations at a NSW licensing inquiry.
The royal commission will be chaired by Neville Owen and is expected to report by June.
The WA government has not suspended Crown’s casino licence but the Bergin inquiry in NSW identified problems at company’s Perth property. The Bergin inquiry recommended Crown was not suitable to continue to run a casino at Barangaroo in Sydney.
The inquiry’s findings about Crown and tycoon James Packer prompted a clean-out of the company’s board and senior management ranks in an attempt to satisfy NSW gaming regulators that enough had changed to allow the group to continue to operate its harbourside casino in Sydney.
The Bergin inquiry found that Crown facilitated money laundering despite the warnings of its bankers. It also found Crown had disregarded the welfare of its China-based staff, putting them at risk of detention by pursuing an aggressive sales policy and failing to escalate risks through the appropriate risk management structures.
The Bergin inquiry also found that Crown entered commercial ties with junket operators who had links to Chinese Triads and other organised crime groups.
Some of the conduct considered by the Bergin inquiry related to the Crown Casino in Perth, while other issues related to the casino operated in Victoria by Crown Melbourne.
Victoria has also called a royal commission in the light of the Bergin findings.
WA’s royal commission will delve into whether Crown and its operations are suitable to hold the licence for the Perth venue.
It will also look at possible changes that would be required to render Crown suitable to run the casino if any problems were found, as well as the adequacy of communications by Crown with the WA Gaming and Wagering Commission, including during the Bergin inquiry.
The West Australian commission will also report on the adequacy of the existing regulatory framework in relation to casinos in WA to address risks identified in the Bergin report, including those related to junket operations, money laundering, cash and electronic transactions and the risk of infiltration by criminal elements into casino operations.
It will look at the how the WA Gaming and Wagering Commission has overseen the casino, as well as delving into any conflicts of interest held by regulators.
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