Why did it take media reporting to get Australia’s money laundering investigators to start looking into casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd.?
Shares in the gambling company previously controlled by billionaire James Packer slumped 8.2% last week just after it said the country’s financial-crimes regulator Austrac had started a probe into the handling of "high risk and politically exposed” individuals at its Melbourne casino. The investigation started two months after Nine Entertainment Co. newspapers published a series of articles about the activities of high-rolling Chinese gamblers at Crown’s properties.
It’s the latest in a string of prominent cases led by Austrac, after a AU$45 million ($32 million) award against racetrack betting operator Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. in 2017, a AU$700 million penalty against Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2018, and a AU$1.3 billion settlement with Westpac Banking Corp. last month.