An executive for an Australian casino operator, The Star Entertainment Group Limited recently revealed in an official inquiry that his company is still doing business with the Suncity Group, regardless of allegations that the Asian junket firm is criminally affiliated.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper detailed in a report that the operator’s CEO, Greg Hawkins had shed light on these details during an official hearing that serves as part of a wide-reaching analysis of the casino industry in New South Wales.
Shedding light
The newspaper report explained that the investigation being conducted by the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority was also informed that The Star Entertainment Group Limited had recently shut down the private gaming room run by Suncity Group in its The Star Sydney property.
Hawkins reportedly stated that this decision was made following Suncity’s, Alvin Chau being banned from entering Australia by the Department of Home Affairs. This was prompted by suspicions that he was associated with organized crime, even possibly being a member of Macau’s infamous 14K Triad group.
Ongoing deliberation
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hawkins further stated that his firm had relocated Suncity Group’s VIP gaming lounge to another part of its Sydney casino, instructing its internal anti-money laundering compliance team to conduct an investigation to ‘see if that brought any further information to light’.
The executive told the authority that his company was undergoing an ‘ongoing assessment’ with respect to this partnership with a final decision still pending.
Hawkins reportedly told the hearing,
“Certainly, nothing has been forwarded to me that would change our association with the junket at this point. I do have some doubts. All I’ve read is speculation but I’ve nothing to validate it. I wouldn’t pretend to fully understand the concepts of organized crime or what it relates to in that part of the world.”
Essential support
The news report showed how junket firms like the Suncity Group aided wealthy Chinese patrons in their overseas gambling excursions by providing pre-arranged credit. These customers can only claim their winnings once they return home as gambling is frowned upon in Beijing where exports of large amounts of domestic currency are heavily restricted.
Previous details
The news report revealed that Crown Resorts Limited had banned Suncity Group from running its own cash exchange desk in 2018 after uncovering close to $4 million in bills hidden in the firm’s private room at the Crown Melbourne development.
Hawkins purportedly also stated that the junket enterprise was never given a similar opportunity by his company as all its players must buy gaming chips from an official cashier cage.
A cooperative attitude
Hawkins went on to tell the hearing that he had met Chau ‘a couple of times’ at social occasions. He welcomed the prospect of New South Wales following the example of Queensland in creating an independent regulator to approve foreign junket firms. He opined that an agency like this could source better information from law enforcement agencies and assemble a team of casino inspectors to examine the events transpiring at The Star Sydney and Crown Sydney facilities.
