Star Entertainment insists media reports of Crown-style dealings are incorrect, says ‘no update’ on takeover talks

The gaming giant has bombarded shareholders with anti-money laundering measures but made no progress on a multi-billion dollar merger.

Star Entertainment Group has bombarded shareholders with denials of media reports suggesting it is no better than scandal-plagued rival Crown Resorts, rattling off a list of efforts to combat money laundering.

These include rolling out facial recognition technology in Queensland after it was installed at its Sydney casino.

Earlier this month, Star shares plunged the day after a 60 Minutes report aired a raft of claims around various allegedly dodgy gamblers pouring a staggering amount of ill-gotten cash into its venues.

These included a “mostly unemployed” man who allegedly funnelled $175m through Star and was charged in connection to the seizure of three tonnes of cocaine.

The report, which followed a joint investigation with The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, also claimed to reveal Star’s top executives were briefed on “secret” KPMG audit reports in 2018 that warned anti-money laundering systems at its venues were failing.

The company issued two statements in response, initially saying it considered a number of assertions within the media reports “misleading” and then dismissing them as incorrect.

The latter was the term chief executive John O’Neill again used at Star’s annual general meeting on Thursday.

Star chief executive Matt Bekier at Treasury Casino in Brisbane. The company announced the sale and partial leaseback of the Treasury buildings for $248m earlier this week. Picture: Richard Walker

“As you would appreciate, we are not able to comment publicly on individuals,” Mr O’Neill told investors.

“However, we can comment on steps we have taken for continuous improvement in not only the area of AML but also responsible gambling and other key operational practices across the group.

“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.”

Chief executive Matt Bekier said the AML measures included implementing new and purpose-built automated transaction monitoring capability to help detect potentially suspicious money movements.

“We believe that we have made very good progress in this area and we have a range of further improvement initiatives under development,” Mr Bekier said.

The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority’s regular five-yearly review of The Star Sydney is being led by barrister Adam Bell, who was lead senior counsel assisting last year’s inquiry into Crown, which found the James Packer-backed company facilitated money laundering by Chinese high-roller junket tours over many years.

That was the same conclusion this year’s Victorian royal commission came to, it was revealed this week when the report was tabled in parliament.

Star Sydney, where venues and team facilities were ‘refreshed’ in the 2021 financial year. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg

The NSW inquiry was told Star, too, had delved deep into the junket market, hosting 20 “gaming salons” for the private use of “VIPs” at The Star Sydney alone, with one designated for a junket understood to have had Alvin Chau – alleged to be a member of the 14K triad gang – as its financier.

Asked by a shareholder if Star would resume hosting junkets after ceasing last October, Mr O’Neill said the company would “focus on international premium mass and direct premium mass once borders reopen”.

Despite Star’s insistence it is doing the right thing, there will be an intense spotlight on its Sydney casino review, components of which will be held in public in March, with the report due by June 30.

“These reviews are not generally published or otherwise made public – for very sound reasons,” Mr O’Neill said at the meeting.

The Queensland regulator – the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation – is also investigating the media allegations.

Responding to a shareholder question, Mr O'Neill said there were “no updates” regarding its spurned takeover offer to Crown, which Star abandoned after “limited engagement”.

Both had previously said they were open to discussions.

The Star executives stressed to investors their excitement about Queensland, where the company is making huge investments.

“The Olympics offer South East Queensland and Queensland more broadly a 10-year ‘Green and Gold runway’ and a 10-year legacy to follow,” Mr O'Neill said.

The company dodged a “second strike” against its remuneration report.

Originally published as Star Entertainment insists media reports of Crown-style dealings are incorrect, says ‘no update’ on takeover talks