Victoria’s Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has fined Crown Melbourne $80 million (US$57.5 million) for organising a scheme that enabled illegal money transfers from China.
The fine was imposed after the VGCCC’s investigation revealed that Crown casino set up a process to circumvent Chinese currency restrictions and allow funds to be transferred out of China illegally, by letting international gamblers use the China Union Pay card from 2012 to 2016.
During that period, the Chinese regime made it illegal for citizens to transfer more than US$50,000 to other countries each year.
The VGCCC said that Crown casino came up with a plan in which it falsely issued hotel room bills to Chinese patrons.
The individuals would then settle the bills with their China Union Pay (CUP) card and receive a voucher acknowledging the receipt of funds.
After that, they would exchange the voucher for cash or chips with the help of a Crown VIP host.
The commission estimated that the scheme processed about $164 million in illegal funds and allowed Crown casino to gain over $32 million in revenue.
This is the first time the VGCCC has used its new enforcement powers following an amendment to the Casino Control Act, which raised the maximum allowable fine from $1 million to $100 million.
The commission chairperson Fran Thorn said that despite Crown’s cooperative attitude during the disciplinary proceedings, the record $80 million fine was appropriate and necessary in light of the seriousness of the casino’s illegal conduct.
“Crown was aware of the risk that the CUP process could be illegal but decided to run that risk.
The VGCCC also said that apart from the scheme, Crown also had other mechanisms that continued after 2016 and allowed cash to be withdrawn via bank cards at its hotels. The money would then be potentially used for gambling purposes.
Although Crown casino has denied that those transactions breached the laws, the VGCCC will investigate the issue.
Furthermore, the gambling regulator is contemplating taking additional disciplinary proceedings against Crown in relation to other findings, with each of them potentially attracting a fine of up to $100 million.
Facing the investigations, Crown said it acknowledged its “historic failings” while pledging to carry out a comprehensive reform and cooperate with the VGCC on other issues.
