Crawford reads the riot act to Crown
The usually faceless NSW casino regulator made a rare public appearance on Wednesday, and chair Philip Crawford wasn’t pulling any punches.
As Crown’s defence continued before Patricia Bergin’sinquiry, the regulator dashed any hope the group’s landmark Barangaroo site would be open before year’s end.
Crawford, billed as one of Sydney’s leading mediators, was decidedly frank in his disapproval of James Packer’s casino group, highlighting the gravity of the money-laundering accusations lobbed against it.
“We’re talking about potentially drugs, we’re talking about child sexual exploitation, we’re talking about people trafficking and we’re talking about financing terrorism,” Crawford said, adding that he was “disappointed” that Crown hadn’t come to the decision itself and that it was “not picking up the vibe”.
How very Mabo.
The decision came after a meeting of the board on Wednesday morning, its penultimate for the year, with the opening of Crown Sydney a key point of consideration.
Crawford revealed his deputy Murray Smith and board, including Nicky McWilliam, wife of Seven’s property mogul Bruce, and insolvency veteran Steve Parbery had put forward to Crown the prospect of a non-gaming opening, that is, just its hotel, bars and restaurants.
But that wasn’t enough for Crown, which had insisted that a graduated opening, including some gaming, was its preference.
After splurging $2.2bn on the Barangaroo monolith, though, it seems Crown has since had a change of heart, telling the market late on Wednesday that it would focus on opening the non-gaming operations at the site.
Anything to bring in some revenue, it seems.
Meanwhile, back at the inquiry, Bergin’s tolerance for Crown’s defence was declining … fast.
In what was the 57th day of public hearings, Bergin lashed silks Robert Craig and Neil Young for the eleventh-hour submission of their anti-money-laundering reports, forcing the defence to concede it had wasted Bergin’s time, not to mention taxpayers’ money.
“Counsel assisting has trawled through these bank accounts with each of the Crown witnesses … if what had happened at 11pm last night had happened sooner we would not have had to go through that,” she said.
The hits didn’t stop there, Bergin going on to say such a report should have been produced upon the original summons last year.
Murphy keeps busy
Some folks have been very busy during the coronavirus-led recession.
Take Minter Ellison partner Richard Murphy, who’s been flat out, but not necessarily getting the results he might like.
Murphy, who’s forged a 30-year career at what is Australia’s biggest law firm, is Crown Resorts’ go-to lawyer.
He has advised the James Packer-controlled $6.5bn Crown for several years.
Murphy assisted management and the board at the time of the China arrests, including consideration of undertaking a deep-dive inquiry into how the scenario unfolded.
Murphy was also involved in publication of Crown’s full-page ad signed by each of the company’s directors defending the group against allegations in the media linking it to money-laundering and Asian crime gangs. Those revelations were a forerunner to the now unfolding NSW casino commission’s inquiry into Crown’s suitability to operate the casino at Barangaroo.
Now, Minters’ legal advice has been summoned by commissioner Patricia Bergin, relating to a decision not to pursue an investigation of two suspicious Crown bank accounts.
“The seriousness of the issue should not be understated,” Bergin said.
Amid the workload that the Crown inquiry has generated for Murphy, he had time in recent months to play a part in the inquiry into the bungled Victorian hotel quarantine scheme.
But that hasn’t been smooth sailing, either.
Minters came under scrutiny for its failure to provide material relating to chief health officer Brett Sutton and when he found out about the use of private security guards to the inquiry.
The Jennifer Coate-led commission was forced to write to Minters asking direct questions about who had decided that the documents were not relevant to the inquiry, why the decision was made and who decided not to produce the documents.
The failure contributed to an extraordinary hearing of the investigation, orders for new evidence from key players and likely delays to the conclusion of the inquiry, with Murphy being one of the Minters partners who penned the firm’s response to the inquiry.
Such a busy year.
State’s concerns
And what of the ILGA’s southern counterpart, the Victorian Commission for Gaming and Liquor Regulation?
The money-laundering that Crown on Wednesday admitted to, following reports prepared for it on the matter by Grant Thornton and anti-money-laundering compliance consultant Initialism and which ILGA chair Philip Crawford said on Wednesday he was so concerned about (and which has unfolded in the VCGLR’s jurisdiction), is making waves in Victoria.
As of a week ago today, Crown’s casino in Melbourne is open again and money is flowing through the system after an extended closure due to the coronavirus.
You would think organised crime must be so relieved.
But on Wednesday night a VCGLR spokesman told Margin Call that the regulator had “issued Crown with a notice of demand requiring it to produce this information (the Grant Thornton and Initialism reports) to the VCGLR” as well.
The pressure on the Victorian regulator must be intense.
Heli-skiing blow
Don’t you just hate it when border restrictions put a dampener on your heli-skiing hobby?
Such is the conundrum for richlister Multiplex heir Tim Roberts — one of the three children of the late construction powerhouse John — whose net wealth was last estimated in the ballpark of $1.3bn.
He has put his 18,000ha Halfway Bay Station in Queenstown, which he owns alongside Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison, on the market with a $47m price guide, reportedly due to access concerns given strict border restrictions between his native Perth and COVID stickler New Zealand.
The property, with an outlook to the famed Remarkables, is touted as one of the area’s “finest pristine and iconic landscapes”, built completely off the grid with access only by light aircraft, helicopter or boat — forms of transport also handy when it comes to the property’s ultimate adventure activity options including heli-skiing, hunting and fly fishing.
Roberts is no stranger to the South Island’s luxury haven, with a separate property across Lake Wakatipu in Speargrass Flat.
He has maintained business links with Ellison even after stepping down from the Mineral Resources board last year. Through his Kingfisher Capital he holds a 1.73 per cent stake, worth roughly $92.1m at current prices due to the iron ore boom, but well eclipsed by Ellison’s major 11.75 per cent holding.
The upcoming MinRes AGM is set to boost Ellison’s holdings further still, if shareholders pass the latest remuneration report — though the board and chair Peter Wade has said any rights to be issued hardly need their consent.
In an addendum to the company’s AGM notice, Wade cited recent discussions with proxy advisers concerning incentive rights, saying that while there was no requirement for the company to put it to shareholders, it would do so in future … just not this year.
Ellison previously has set out plans to demolish his and wife Tia’s $57.5m mansion in Perth’s Mosman Park, perhaps a good use for the extra free cashflow.
Rytenskild eyes his old Tabcorp job
First Adam Rytenskild was dumped as Tabcorp CEO, now he’s won a Fair Work Commission case against it, so could he be plotting a return to the position since filled by Gillon McLachlan?
MinRes in game of cat and mouse
The Legal Practice Board of Western Australia is looking into MinRes and its lawyers’ conduct, which is interesting timing as its company secretary has just been made legal counsel to the board.