A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said all visa applications were assessed against the law."Our offices in China are well aware of the risks ... and they scrutinise and manage applications accordingly,"the spokesperson said,and the Department had"no evidence"of conditions being waived for Crown.
Ms Jiang told a jointAge,Sydney Morning Herald and60 Minutes investigation that,when the arrests happened,Crown regarded its staff like a “used napkin you throw in the trash can”.
“Money is way more important than the staff,” she said.
Former Crown Resorts employee Jenny Jiang being arrested in China in 2016.Credit:60 Minutes
She refused a $60,000 payment offer from Crown,which included a condition that she stay quiet. She is taking a significant risk in breaking her silence to tell the story of a police crackdown still cloaked in secrecy.
Ms Jiang’s exclusive interview — to be aired on60 Minutes on Sunday — comes amid separate revelations that Crown worked with tour operators backed by international organised crime syndicates,including a triad-controlled drug trafficking group.
In a statement,Crown Resorts said that it could not comment on specific allegations,though it denied any breach of China law and had not been charged with an offence in China. Crown"refutes any suggestion that it knowingly exposed its staff to the risk of detention in China".
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has lodged a class action against Crown after its share price plunged when the Crown employees were detained. Crown is defending the action,which alleges the company knew or should have known about the risks.
On its relationships with junket operators and individuals,Crown's statement said"Crown does not comment on its business operations with particular individuals or businesses". However,it has a comprehensive"anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing program in place,"which is subject to regulatory supervision by AUSTRAC,"the statement said.
A lawyer for the casino's firm's most prominent shareholder,James Packer,said Mr Packer “adamantly” insisted that he had “no … knowledge” of the company’s conduct in China that led to the prosecution of the company’s employees.
He has not been an executive at the company since 2012 and resigned as chairman of Crown Resorts in August,2015,and as a board member in December that year. He had a “passive role” at Crown,according to the lawyer’s letter.
Mr Packer issued a statement at the time of the arrests saying he was “deeply concerned” for the workers’ welfare.
A "passive role":James Packer denies knowledge of Crown's activities in China.Credit:
But Ms Jiang has accused Crown of not only disregarding Chinese law but also the welfare of its Chinese employees as senior managers offered sales staff huge bonuses to lure Chinese high-rollers to gamble at Crown’s Australian casinos.
Multiple internal sources said the biggest VIP gamblers were offered help securing immigration to Australia,their children’s schooling in Australia and property investments in Melbourne and Sydney.
Loading
She said this illegal behaviour was at the centre of Crown’s Chinese operation,which she helped administer between 2011 and 2017.
“High management kept pushing every sales[staff member] to meet more customers,get more business,” recalls Jiang.
Staff who didn’t perform were sacked,according to Ms Jiang. And ultimately,when Chinese law enforcement caught up with them,they were detained,charged and convicted.
Ms Jiang said that even as it became likely Chinese police were closing in,Crown directed its Chinese sales staff to keep promoting gambling,but to do so"under the radar"and to refuse to assist police in the event they were raided.
Multiple sources have also confirmed that prior to the arrests,Crown told its Chinese staff to falsely claim to Chinese authorities they were not working for Crown in China but were working in other locations.
Crown has maintained it worked closely with Australian officials to free its employees.
Investigations like this require bravery,determination and your support. Know the story as it continues to unfold. SubscribetoThe Age orThe Sydney Morning Herald from only $3.50 per week.
Know more? Send us a confidential and encrypted message onJournoTips