Harold Mitchell giving evidence to the Crown inquiry from his apartment.
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority inquiry was triggered by a series of reports byThe Sydney Morning Herald,The Age and60 Minutes last year about Crown's junket partners,its failure to stop money laundering at its Melbourne and Perth casinos and how it put its staff in danger of arrest in China.
Mr Mitchell,who counted media mogul Kerry Packer as a close business associate,defended his decision to remain on the board of Crown after a ruling earlier this year that hebreached his duties as a director of Tennis Australia when he passed information in late 2012 to a third party,Bruce McWilliam at Seven Network,describing his infringement as"minor".
Mr Mitchell also defended his independence as a Crown director after it emerged he received a $1.9 million interest-free loan from Kerry Packer during the early 1990s recession that saved him from bankruptcy,saying Mr Packer was a kind man who helped many people.
Mr Mitchell was taken to reports on the criminal activities of one high roller Crown dealt with,Qiyun Zhou,and shown photos of Crown executive Barry Felstead with his arm around Mr Zhou. He was also taken to emails that showed Crown staff in China had been threatened with violence if they stopped advancing credit to Mr Zhou.
Mr Mitchell said these concerns were never reported to the board.
"It should have,"he said.