The Guardian reports
Austrac has launched court action accusing James Packer’s Crown Resorts of breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws and continuing to contravene the law due to wholly inadequate oversight by management.
In a lawsuit filed with the federal court on Tuesday, Austrac, Australia’s financial intelligence agency, said ongoing failures to properly vet risky customers – including those brought in from overseas by junket operators and locals with links to people already banned from Crown’s Melbourne and Perth casinos – accounted for 547 breaches of anti-money laundering laws.
Each alleged breach of the law if proven could attract a penalty of up to $22.2m, meaning Crown faces a fine that could theoretically exceed $12bn. However, if Austrac’s action succeeds, a far smaller penalty is likely. The current record fine is $1.3bn, which Westpac agreed to pay to settle allegations by Austrac that the bank breached AML/CTF laws more than 23m times, including by allowing a dozen customers to transfer money to the Philippines in a way consistent with child exploitation.
