Mar14
Crown Resorts Faces Problems After Giving Money to Drug Trafficker
March 7, 2020 TamaraTam
Australia-based Crown Resorts Casino has to answer serious questions about its gambling activity. The venue has recently been connected with numerous malversations including mobs, war criminals and money laundering. Over the next period, the operator will struggle to keep their license for its Crown Resorts venue and well-known Sydney casino complex…
Background of the Problem
The Australian provider has been the subject of negative news recently…It has just been revealed that a high-ranking executive ordered the subordinate to transfer a large amount of dollars to a drug trafficker. The name of the executive who issued the order is Veng Anh, and he works in the position of VP of international operations for the casino. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the VP told an employee to transfer AU$500,000 (about $331,000) to Nan Hu about three years ago. Hu is a known drug dealer and the owner of a nightclub in Australia. The whole sum ended up in the hands of the Australian-Chinese crime syndicate connected with heroin sales and distribution.
New South Wales regulators believe that Anh knew Hu but did not know about his drug activities. However, the executive broke the rules by allowing the transaction to take place without approval. According to Australian Laws, each transaction over AU$10,000 should be reported to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) in three days following the transaction. However, this was not done. The operator reported the deal after a year and right when the local regulator looked to examine the case.
About the Past
The Crown Resorts executive approved the transfer to Hu who has been accused of selling and distributing cocaine and for money laundering. At the time of the transaction, Veng Anh was not in the group of Resorts high rollers, which was another signal for the regulator. It is later been discovered that the transaction has some ties with Tom Zhou (Mr. Chinatown), a Crown VIP which has been on Interpol’s wanted list. Tom Zhou had cooperated with Veng Ahu while trying to lure additional customers from China.
At the moment, the Australia-based venue is under the control of Timothy Ma who has been connected to criminals in Australia and spent some time behind bars for heroin trafficking. He is also known for having a connection with Italian mafia groups.
According to the opinion of AUSTRAC’s former director of intelligence, Todd Harland:
“Taking cash and putting it through a casino and hopefully turning that into some level of winnings, or at least the ability to make it look like it was winnings – that’s money laundering 101.”
Meanwhile, a number of complaints against the operator is increasing all the time and the regulator could easily decide to take the license from Crowns’ hands…
Source:
“Crown Resorts under fire for sending big bucks to drug dealers“, Erik Gibbs, calvinayre.com, February 24, 2020.
It looks like the Australian casino has regular ties with criminals…AUS authorities should definitely examine the case in detail and make a reasonable decision…