Former CEO Matt Bekier to face Star Entertainment inquiry
The public hearings into The Star Sydney continue this week with testimony from key executives.
Australia.- Former Star Entertainment Group chief executive Matt Bekier will testify this week to the New South Wales regulator the ILGA’s inquiry into the casino operator. Bekier stepped down as CEO of the company following issues raised at the public hearings
On Tuesday, Star Entertainment’s senior vice president of advanced service operations, Mark Walker, was questioned about his deal with VIP player and iProsperity director Michael Gu, who gambled large sums at The Star in 2018 and 2019. Gu is reported to have fled Australia after iProsperity collapsed under its debts in July 2020.
Counsel assisting Penelope Abdiel asked Walker about a meeting he attended at Gu’s office in 2019 to discuss delayed casino payments. Gu is said to have shown him a $100m bank balance of investor money, which Walker said he believed was an attempt by Gu to “show off”.
Walker dismissed Abdiel’s claim that he was “deliberately blind” to the possibility that Gu could use investor funds to pay off his star gambling debt.
According to an investigation, Walker received a $580,000 job offer from Gu but Walker denied any conflict of interest. He was also asked how Gu’s $500,000 gambling debt came to be paid by another man, Harry Huang.
The public hearings into The Star Sydney will continue until August 31 after the New South Wales regulator, the ILGA, approved Adam Bell SC’s request for an extension.
