The Star Entertainment Group has been rebuked for dumping a swath of documents well after they were expected.Credit:Oscar Colman
The Star’s unexpected data drop came after Katsibouba alleged the business had attempted to cook the books.
“[The documents] ought to have been produced in answer to the summons well before 5pm on April 3,” Bell told the lawyers.
“They’ve been produced two weeks late at a time when Ms Katsibouba’s examination is at an advanced stage. The covering letter from the solicitors for The Star entities provided no explanation for the failure to comply with the summons.”
The Star casino may be shut down if Bell finds the business has not adequately reformed its culture since his first inquiry,which in 2022 found extensive anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism failings.
Inquiry head Adam Bell,SC (left),The Star’s former chief financial officer Christina Katsibouba and special manager Nick Weeks.Credit:AFR
So far,the second inquiry has heard from Nick Weeks,the special manager who holds The Star’s NSW casino licence while it overhauls its compliance culture,as well as Katsibouba,former company secretary George Hughes and former chief legal officer Betty Ivanoff.
Over the first three days of the hearing,The Star has been accused offalsifying mandatory welfare checks on poker machine players,failing to stop $3.2 million in cash going to gamblers who detected a fault in a gaming machine during a six-week period,andforming a plot to then misconstrue that loss in the company’s half-yearly results in February.