Australia's financial crime regulator said on Friday it had broadened its ongoing investigation of the country's second-biggest casino operator Star Entertainment Group over possible breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws at its casinos.
The sector has been plagued by a slew of regulatory inquiries in Australia and the development highlights casino firms' shortcomings in managing strict oversight of alleged money laundering at their gambling hotspots.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) launched a probe in June into Star's casino in Sydney amid concerns over ongoing customer due diligence and compliance with laws.
Local media later reported on a confidential review that accused Star of failure to curb fraud and money laundering at its two resorts.
The investigation into Star will now include multiple entities under the company, AUSTRAC said on Friday, declining to comment further as the probe was ongoing.
The company said earlier in the day that it would fully co-operate with AUSTRAC's investigation.
Star's larger rival Crown Resorts has also faced misconduct inquiries in every state it operates in.
Crown on Thursday received a $6.5 billion buyout proposal from U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Inc. Star itself had approached Crown for a deal last year before backing out over regulatory concerns.
Star's shares fell as much as 1.7% by afternoon trading, while the broader market was down about 1%. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
English (US)