Suncity continued cash operations at Star despite ban, inquiry hears

Video evidence shown to the ILGA inquiry shows that junket operator Suncity continued to operate with cash at Star’s Sydney venue despite a ban due to money laundering concerns.

Australia.- In a third day of public hearings into the Star Entertainment Group in New South Wales, the ILGA inquiry heard that junket operator Suncity continued to operate with cash at the group’s Sydney casino despite a ban. The hearing saw CCTV footage from 2018 that showed Suncity staff putting piles of cash in a brown paper bag at the venue.

Angus Buchanan, Star’s due diligence group manager, told the inquiry that in 2016 the casino offered SunCity a private gaming room for its customers to play on the condition that they use it to buy or redeem gaming chips. SunCity ended that arrangement in August 2018 but carried on in another room without Suncity signage, Buchanan said.

SunCity was prohibited from exchanging cash for chips and withholding cash from players at the service desk but an internal investigation revealed that SunCity had stored large amounts of money in gym bags on the balcony next to its games room, with staff often exchanging casino chips for cash.

The casino operator responded to the violation with a warning letter but when the Star’s lead investigator Andrew McGregor tried to question Suncity staff, the junket operator refused to answer. All the same, the Star continued its relationship with Suncity until October 2020.

Junket operations were banned in NSW following suggestions made by former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin in her inquiry into Crown Resorts.

Yesterday, Paul McWilliams, former chief risk officer at the company, gave testimony about a 2018 report by global audit firm KPMG. Williams said Star CEO Matt Bekier had criticised the report.

The KPMG audit reportedly found that Star’s risk inspections used to detect possible money laundering and terrorist financing were insufficient. McWilliams said that at a tense audit committee meeting in 2018, Bekier had questioned the factual accuracy of KPMG’s findings.

See also: Star deputy treasurer misled National Australia Bank, inquiry hears