"How on earth a regulator would know what’s happening,this is what’s troubling me,"said Commissioner Bergin,who will report back to the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority on whether Crown should keep the licence for its new Barangaroo casino.
The inquiry heard that Crown's largest shareholder,the reclusive billionaire James Packer,demanded updated financial forecasts from Mr Barton in February 2019,three months before he agreed to sell 20 per cent of Crown to Hong Kong group Melco for $1.8 billion.
Mr Packer,who owned 46 per cent of the company at the time,responded to the 2019 full-year forecast by saying that Mr Barton and other executives had their"heads in the sand",that he was"sick of never meeting the plans"and warned them to"make sure,for you own sake,we achieve the financial year 2020 plan".
The inquiry was played a recording of Crown's October 2019 AGM,during which shareholder activist Stephen Mayne asked the group's independent directors to explain what information Crown shared with Mr Packer,including if he was"selectively briefed"or received any"special treatment".
Mr Barton,then Crown's chief financial officer,answered on their behalf by explaining that Crown shared information with Mr Packer's private company,Consolidated Press Holding (CPH),in order for it to provide some services to the group under a long disclosed agreement.
However,he did not tell the meeting Mr Packer was not allowed to receive company information under that agreement,nor did he mention that a separate"controlling shareholder protocol"was put in place for sharing information with Mr Packer in 2018,after he resigned as a Crown and CPH director.