Crown appoints chief compliance and financial crimes officer

The casino operator has created the new role in a bid to show commitment with compliance.

Australia.- Crown Resorts has announced the appointment of a chief compliance and financial crimes officer. It has appointed Steven Blackburn to the position, where he will report directly to the CEO.

The move that has been seen as a significant step towards an overhaul of Crown’s internal compliance procedures following the criticism the company received at the New South Wales inquiry. The inquiry heard that senior management had been unaware of large cash deposits and transfers conducted by its own customers.

Blackburn is currently chief financial crime risk officer and group money laundering reporting officer at National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), where he is responsible for the implementation of NAB’s financial crime programme, including oversight of financial crime control activity and compliance across global operations

Prior to his current role, he was previously AML officer at CIBC Bank in Toronto, Canada, where he also established the bank’s financial crime programme.

He will join Crown on March 1 2021, reporting directly to CEO Ken Barton and the Crown Resorts board.

Barton said in a statement that the arrival of Blackburn is “a further significant step forward in strengthening our compliance and anti-money laundering functions”.

He said: “Steven is an experienced compliance executive and his substantial technical expertise and global perspectives will position him well to take a leadership role in driving further improvements through the business.”