[Greens-Media] Govt exposed hiding organised crime and corruption risk at Barangaroo casino

[John Kaye]

Govt exposed hiding organised crime and corruption risk at Barangaroo casino

Media release: 13 November 2014

After a long struggle, secret provisions in a deal between James Packer's Crown Resorts and the NSW casino regulator have been made public.

The provisions deal with the threat that the Barangaroo casino will become a vehicle for organised crime, corruption and money laundering, especially through any connections with Stanley Ho, the father of James Packer's business partner, Lawrence Ho.

The previously secret Schedule 1 creates obligations on Crown Resorts that attempt to limit junket operations, Crown's activities in overseas jurisdictions and further business connections between Crown and Stanley Ho and his associates.

Schedule 2, the contents of which remain secret, contains a list of the "deemed close associates" of Stanley Ho.

Stanley Ho has been accused by US regulators of connections to Chinese organised crime Triads, strong ties to North Korea and involvement in money laundering activities.

Read the VIP Gaming Management Agreement here: http://bit.ly/1yAOZoj

Media comments

Greens NSW MP John Kaye said: "This document is an admission that the Barangaroo casino will pose a real threat to NSW.

"For the first time there is a public admission that the government and the regulator knew that the state would be at risk of organised crime and corruption penetration through Crown's new casino.

"The success or failure of the measures that we have now forced into the public domain will have a grave bearing on the ability of this state to fight off organised crime.

"While the Baird and O'Farrell governments were busy ignoring concerns that were raised about the impacts of the Barangaroo casino, their own regulator was trying to minimise the influence of the Ho family, protect NSW from junket operators and limit Crown's business international dealings.

"The NSW government can no longer publicly ignore serious concerns that the Barangaroo casino could become a pathway for money laundering, junket operations and the Triads and other organised crime.

"Stanley Ho, the father of James Packer's business partner Lawrence Ho, has been effectively banned from every casino jurisdiction except Macau. He has been publicly accused by at least one US regulator of connections to organised crime and the North Korean regime.

"The provisions that have been hidden from the NSW public supposedly erect a barrier between this state and the corrupt practises in casinos in places like Macau.

"If they fail, Barangaroo will become the epicentre of a wave of Triad activity and drug and prostitution money. The consequences for NSW will be dire.

"The Baird government's effective admission of the integrity and safety risks posed by the Barangaroo casino comes very late in the day. The legislation has been changed, the licence granted and the process is rolling on toward a 2019 start-up.

"If the parliament had known what was at stake, I wonder if they would have amended the laws to create a second casino licence with such enthusiasm.

"The NSW government worked hard to maintain secrecy over provisions that are at best flimsy and at worst ineffective. At least now they can be subjected to public scrutiny.

"The document is a wake-up call for NSW. The corruption and organised crime threats of casinos are real and can no longer be swept under the carpet. They are even greater if people like Stanley Ho are ever allowed to exercise even remote influence over the operators.

"It is hardly surprising that the Liberal National government worked hard to keep these documents away from any public scrutiny.

"From the very start, the public have been kept in the dark despite the real impacts this casino could have on public safety and the integrity of law enforcement," Dr Kaye said.

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455