Trading in Australian casino firm halted after damning report

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Sydney, Australia — Share trading in troubled Australian resort operator Star Entertainment was halted Friday after a regulator said it was still “unsuitable” to hold a casino license.

The Australian Stock Exchange said Star had been “placed in trading halt” pending the release of a company announcement.

The New South Wales Independent Casino Commission earlier published a scathing report about the firm’s casino operations, saying it had not done enough to rectify a culture that allowed serious criminal infiltration.

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“The Star entities are presently falling short of what is required for suitability,” the latest in a string of watchdog investigations reported.

The firm has previously been accused of not adequately policing criminal infiltration and doing little to vet the sources of money coming into the business.

Watchdogs found that one patron, Xiangmo Huang — a Chinese real estate billionaire barred by the Australian government for being an agent of Chinese influence — had ploughed more than a billion dollars into Star over several years.

Another high-rolling patron was allegedly involved in human trafficking.