Crown Resorts’ stocks slipped after Adrian Finanzio, counsel assisting Victoria\u2019s Royal Commission, said Crown Melbourne should lose its casino licence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Australia.- Crown Resorts’ share price has fallen after\u00a0Adrian Finanzio<\/strong>, the counsel assisting Victoria\u2019s Royal Commission, told the inquiry the casino operator should lose its licence<\/strong>\u00a0for Crown Melbourne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crown shares fell by 1.7 per cent in trading on Wednesday<\/strong>\u00a0and are down more than 22 per cent since May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finanzio said that evidence against Crown Melbourne showed \u201cserious misconduct,\u00a0illegal conduct and highly inappropriate conduct<\/strong>, which has been encouraged or facilitated by a culture which has consistently put profit before all other considerations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the company had put profits above legislative requirements <\/strong>and <\/strong>could owe the state AU$480m (US$351.4m) in unpaid taxes. Crown CEO Steve McCann<\/a> has suggested that the tax underpayment<\/a> stood at around AU$8m, but the figure could be significantly higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finanzio also said that Xavier Walsh<\/strong>, Crown Melbourne\u2019s chief executive, and former executive chairman, Helen Coonan<\/strong>, were not appropriate people to remain connected to the casino operator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He told former Federal Court judge\u00a0Raymond Finkelstein<\/strong>, who\u2019s leading the inquiry, that if he decides Crown Melbourne should hold its licence, it must be \u201cplaced under strict supervision and should not be left to its own devices to implement reform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some analysts have suggested\u00a0the company should maintain its hotel and entertainment businesses<\/strong>\u00a0and allow a third party to manage the casino venue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finkelstein was originally due to\u00a0release his report by August 1<\/a> but has ordered an extension to the inquiry up to October 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One option for Crown could be to accept one of the offers from its potential suitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\nCould a possible merger with Star Entertainment be the solution?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n