The operator has reached an agreement with New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
New Zealand.-\u00a0SkyCity Casino Management Limited\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)<\/strong>\u00a0have\u00a0reached a settlement regarding\u00a0the DIA’s civil proceedings against SkyCity for breaches of\u00a0AML regulations.\u00a0SkyCity has agreed to pay a fine for the violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of the settlement, the company has admitted that it breached its obligations under the\u00a0New Zealand Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009\u00a0to undertake and review a\u00a0risk assessment, establish, implement, and maintain a fully compliant AML\/CFT compliance programme, adequately conduct account monitoring, conduct enhanced customer due diligence and terminate business relationships when required. The failures occurred between February 2018 and March 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The parties will propose to the High Court that the case can proceed to a penalty hearing, where\u00a0the penalty amount will be decided. They have agreed to jointly suggest a penalty of NZ$4.16m (US$2.54m).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mike Stone<\/strong>,\u00a0director\u00a0AML\/CFT Group DIA,\u00a0said: \u201cThis agreement is an impactful outcome.\u00a0We have achieved our desired result without the extended duration and cost of court proceedings. While we consider these regulatory breaches\u00a0to be\u00a0serious, we are pleased that SkyCity was able to admit to the\u00a0breaches\u00a0and acknowledged responsibility for\u00a0what were\u00a0significant failings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is encouraging to see the work SkyCity has already done to lift its performance in this area and its public commitment to continue to improve. We will be working closely with SkyCity in the future in relation to its ongoing compliance obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are proud that our work has contributed to the integrity of New Zealand\u2019s financial system <\/strong>and can encourage public confidence in our regulations aimed at deterring money laundering and terrorism financing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a separate press release, SkyCity\u2019s executive chairman, Julian Cook<\/strong>, said: \u201cOver the past few years, considerable progress has been made towards upgrading our anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML\/CFT) systems. This does not lessen the seriousness with which we take these breaches and we are disappointed that SkyCity is in this position. As a casino operator, we play a key role in combatting money laundering and terrorism financing and we take that responsibility seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn behalf of the SkyCity Board and management team, I accept and apologize for these long-standing failings. We have fallen short of the standards we should hold ourselves to, alongside failing to meet the expectations of our regulators, customers, shareholders and the communities we are part of. We are committed to, and have begun, delivering the level of change\u00a0that is\u00a0required to meet these expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nSkyCity Adelaide agrees to penalty for AML Breaches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n