Casino junket in spotlight at Star inquiry
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An inquiry into Star Entertainment's Sydney casino is turning its attention to whether junket operators who bring big-time gamblers into casinos could provide them cover to skirt anti-money laundering laws.
The group's Manager of Due Diligence and Intelligence Angus Buchanan will resume his evidence on Wednesday at the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority's inquiry, which is seeking to determine whether the Sydney casino should keep its licence.
He began working for Star in May 2019, a year after a report by KPMG raised concerns over compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, eventually sparking the inquiry.
That report led to a "very tense" meeting during which Star group CEO Matt Bekier described it as inaccurate, according to former chief risk compliance officer Paul McWilliams.
Mr McWilliams has told the inquiry the "broad theme" of the CEO's reaction was that the report contained multiple errors and KPMG did not know what they were doing.
Mr McWilliams and former internal audit head Tarnya O'Neil both agreed the report found a lack of due diligence in relation to junkets, a significant revenue source that carried numerous risks relating to transparency around the source of funds being used to gamble.
The KPMG partners who authored the report were available in a waiting room but were never called into the meeting.
When Alexander Graham and John O'Sullivan eventually did meet with Mr Bekier he was "hostile" and spent the meeting "essentially berating us", Mr Graham told the inquiry on Tuesday.
Mr O'Sullivan said Mr Bekier's concerns related mainly to the language used in the report and things he disagreed with.
The meeting ended with an agreement to provide Mr Graham with a specific list of Mr Bekier's concerns.
By late July, following more meetings, the KPMG partners formed the view Star was willing to accept the findings and move forward to address the issues.
The report would later spark investigations into Star, leading to the current ILGA inquiry following allegations it enabled suspected money laundering, organised crime, fraud and foreign interference.
Star has said it has an unwavering focus on preventing criminal activity at its casinos, which also include The Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane.
