Crown Resorts’ new Sydney casino banned from opening next month

The ban on opening Crown Resorts’ new casino in Sydney, Barangaroo, comes after the group’s admission to money laundering activities among its VIP accounts

The Crown Resorts has been banned from opening its new $2.2 billion development in Sydney, Barangaroo by the NSW gaming regulator. This is due to the company admitting to suspicious and illegal activities among its VIP accounts, such as money laundering, were criminals would launder dirty money through Crown Resorts bank accounts. 

This level of misconduct triggered an immediate response from NSW’s Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) chairman, Philip Crawford. The chairman stated that they will not allow the group to open its doors until they received Patricia Bergin’s report which must be handed over by February 1. The former judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales has been handling Crown Resorts case since early this year. 

It is very likely that Crown Resorts will not be able to open their new casino as experts who examined two of the group’s accounts confirmed illegal activity, with Crawford stating that “It looks like they’ve had some analysis done, and it looks like it’s positive that money laundering transactions have been identified.”  

Moreover, the ILGA chairman feels “uncomfortable” with granting Crown Resorts permission to open its gaming operations until the Bergin inquiry is handed over next year due to Crown Resorts potentially financing heinous crimes such as child exploitation, drug trafficking and terrorism through money laundered via its accounts. 

‘Because when we talk about money laundering … we’re talking about potential drugs, child sexual exploitation, people trafficking and financing terrorism … you can see why we have concern,’ he said. 

This comes after Crown Resorts suspended junket operations following a public hearing with Patricia Bergin slamming Crown’s internal AML controls as ‘debacle’. Therefore, it is not looking good for the group and its casino operations especially after admissions from their own legal team regarding the money laundering claims. 

 Having said that, the ILGA and Crown Resorts are prepared to work together so that the group’s non-gaming areas such as restaurants, entertainment and accommodation will be able to operate as of next month. 

 Crown suspended trading in its shares ahead of ILGA’s announcement. However, the ILGA was prepared to work with Crown to explore options to enable the opening of non-gaming areas including accommodation, restaurants, bars and entertainment areas next month. 

SiGMA website adds French as its 6th language:

SiGMA Group is excited to announce the addition of a 6th language to its website. Users can now find all content, including the SiGMA News website, in French. The latest addition to SiGMA’s portfolio of languages will run alongside the recently launched Russian, Mandarin, Spanish, and Portuguese content, and aims to cater to SiGMA’s wide portfolio of international events.