Star gambler's China bank card paid debt
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A Chinese-born Australian property developer who gambled at Star casino for more than 20 years bought chips with the same Chinese bank cards an inquiry has heard were being used to conceal gambling expenses.
Speaking through an interpreter, Phillip Dong Fang Lee told the hearing on Monday he'd held diamond membership at The Star, the highest available, for more than 15 years, having played at the casino since about 1998.
In that time he primarily played on his own in private rooms.
Relationship managers at the casino would spend time with him as well as arranging food and rooms to play in.
"They provided very good service," Mr Lee said.
Part of that service also included bringing him more chips so he could continue gambling.
Mr Lee told the hearing he would give one of his China Union Pay cards to his relationship manager who would fetch him the chips while he stayed at the table.
"Within ten minutes I would get the chips and I could play again," he told the hearing.
Mr Lee said he had a $5 million credit limit with The Star casino, secured with a cheque from the National Australia Bank.
When that cheque expired he was advised by someone at The Star to provide another cheque from a different bank in Singapore.
In addition to bank accounts in Australia and Singapore, Mr Lee also had more than five bank accounts in mainland China, with "close to twenty" associated CUP cards.
About a decade ago, after a loss at the casino, Mr Lee's relationship manager told him he could use one of those cards to pay back his debt.
The inquiry heard last week that Star allowed high-rollers to bill $900 million as hotel expenses to dodge China's tight anti-gambling and capital flight laws.
CUP cards were used to transfer money to client's hotel accounts, with invoices written up as costs of their stay.
Mr Lee lives in Sydney and told the hearing when he gambled at the casino he did not stay in the hotel.
NAB, which represented CUP's services at the casino, was told by Star the expenses covered costs at the resort as well as external services.
But the bank never explicitly questioned whether the suspect transactions were being used for gambling, even after CUP raised the alarm with NAB.
NAB executive Tanya Arthur, who managed the bank's account with the casino, faced questions over almost $1 billion in disguised expenses on Friday and has returned for a further grilling on Monday.
The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority is investigating whether The Star Sydney is fit to keep its casino licence, following media reports last year accusing the casino's owner of enabling suspected money laundering, organised crime, fraud and foreign interference.
Star Entertainment says it has an unwavering focus on preventing criminal activity at its casinos, which also include The Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane.
Its larger rival, Crown Resorts, has also faced misconduct inquiries, which found criminals were taking advantage of its casinos, prompting two royal commissions and the resignation of most of its board.
