Australia sues Star Entertainment ex-CEO, chairman for money laundering risk lapses

Australia’s corporate regulator is suing 11 current and former directors and officials of casino operator Star Entertainment Group Ltd, including a former chief executive and chairman, for poor management of money-laundering risks.

The lawsuit is the regulator’s first against the casino industry since reports of poor governance emerged in 2019. It is also the first to target individual board members.

The claims by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) involve Star Entertainment’s board members between 2017 and 2019, including former Chairman John O’Neill and former CEO Matthias Bekier.

ASIC alleges Star’s board and executives “failed to give sufficient focus to the risk of money laundering and criminal associations,” ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said in a statement on Tuesday.

ASIC also alleged that the Board members had approved the expansion of Star’s relationship with certain individuals who reportedly had criminal links.

The agency said some group executives had “knowingly permitted misleading statements” to be provided to National Australia Bank. The statements allegedly disguised the fact that Star was permitting the use in gambling of cards issued by China Union Pay, contrary to the issuer’s requirement.

Star and its subsidiaries were not parties to the proceedings, it said in a statement. Star declined a Reuters request to provide contact details of the individuals accused by ASIC.

Among the 11 individuals being sued, Ben Heap and Katie Lahey are the only two who currently sit on the board.

Star Entertainment in a separate release said both of them will resign once their replacements are appointed, adding, Heap, the current chairman, and non-executive director Lahey, intend to contest the allegations.

ASIC said each breach of director’s duties in 2017 to 2019 could attract a maximum penalty of A$1,050,000 ($709,000).

Australia’s gambling industry has been under the regulatory scanner in recent years, with public inquiries lashing the biggest casino operators for shirking anti-money-laundering rules, dysfunctional governance and poor corporate culture.

Last week, the Queensland government slapped penalties totalling A$100 million on Star and deferred a proposed suspension on its operations in the state on condition they be monitored.

In October, a New South Wales state inquiry found Star unsuitable to hold a casino licence in Sydney and ordered it to pay a A$100 million fine.

The government has been under pressure to take a deeper look at the industry and further control how much people can spend on gambling. Australians already lose more money per person on gambling than any other country.

($1=1.4826 Australian dollars)