Crown set up two companies to give its patrons 'privacy'.Credit:Getty Images
The NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority's inquiry is investigating revelations byThe Age,Sydney Morning Herald and60 Minutes that Crown went into business with"junket"tour operators linked to organised crime and was used tolaunder suspected drug money.
The inquiry heard Crown used two holdings companies with Crown executives as directors called Southbank Investments and Riverbank Investments,linked to Crown's Melbourne and Perth casinos respectively,which opened banks accounts for patrons to deposit money into. Once credited to a patron's Crown account,they could withdraw it as cash,a cheque or as gambling chips.
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Mr Preston said the purpose of the holding companies was to give patrons"privacy",but under questioning by counsel assisting the inquiry,Scott Aspinall,about their"misleading"names,he agreed that hiding the fact money was being transferred to a casino created a"vulnerability"for them to be used for money laundering or theft.
The inquiry heard that in January 2014 ANZ Bank contacted Crown to raise the alarm about a string of large cash deposits made to the Riverbank account at different bank branches across Perth,which Mr Aspinall said was a clear red flag for money laundering.
Mr Preston was the head of anti-money laundering at Crown Perth at the time but said he could not recall if he was alerted to the incident or attended a meeting with ANZ about their concerns.
When ANZ cancelled the account,Crown opened a new account with CBA which - despite its experience with ANZ - also accepted anonymous cash deposits. Mr Aspinall took the inquiry through a series of suspect cash deposits of up to $50,000 made to the new CBA account over three months that totalled $5 million.