Links to mob figures, money laundering and ties to international war criminals reads like a plot from a Martin Scorsese movie, but these are just a handful of allegations brought to the attention of regulators regarding the billion-dollar Crown Sydney Casino.
The company’s suitability (and credibility) is currently und the microscope after the latest set of allegations come rolling in. Crown Resorts is now under fire for allegedly sending wads of cash to a known drug dealer!
It’s alleged that a high-ranking exec within the casino…
…ordered one of his staff to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to a known drug trafficker. It’s getting more and more like the Godfather. What next? A horse’s head on a pillow? New South Wales regualtors are debating whether to remove the gambling license for the casino after string of bad publicity.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Veng Anh, the Vice President of international operations at Crown Resorts, ordered an unamend employee to send roughly $331,000 to Nan Hu, the owner of a nightclub in the district and a convicted drug dealer, approximately three years ago.
The money which is worth approximately $500K in Australian currency went directly to a Melbourne-based Australian-Chinese organised crime ring, one that deals in the sales and distribution of heroin.
Keep Your Friends Close but Your Enemies Closer
The vice president is said to have known Nan Hu through the casino’s VIP club, but did he know about his past? This is one question that regulators are trying to answer. If they find he didn’t, there are still serious repercussions, what with breaking protocol and financial regulations.
Australia’s law states that any transaction of more than AU$10K must be reported to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) within a period of three days. Crown waited a year to provide this info and that only came after authorities in West Australia had begun questioning the original transaction.
Money laundering and selling and distributing cocaine were charges brought against Nan Hu in 2015 and at the time of his casino game wager, he wasn’t even a high roller or an agent of Crown Resorts which flags up even more concerns.
Making matters worse is the fact that Nan Hu has links to someone called Tom Zhou, a man also known as Mr Chinatown, a Crown VIP who was identified as being on Interpol’s wanted list! The duo had worked together previously to attract mega spenders to the Crown.
AUSTRAC’s former director of intelligence, Todd Harland said: “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.”
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Comments (1)
Bubles12
02/28/20, 03:02:29 PM
The license should be revoked immediately! All these allegations and links are mad! How can you not know about someone’s past? These people are widely known in the area. The casino was in on it in my opinion
