Crown Perth adopted the name Riverbank Investments for its bank account so Asian high rollers could disguise funnelling cash into a casino, but that didnt raise red flags for a top executive, the West Australian royal commission has been told.Former chief financial officer Ken Barton took the stand at the WA probe on Tuesday and was grilled at length about the bank account, which is at the centre of Crown’s money laundering scandal along with the Southbank Investments bank account used by the Melbourne casino.
Mr Barton was the highest profile scalp to be claimed in the wake of damning findings from last year’s NSW gaming regulator inquiry – quitting as Crown Resorts chief executive in February, just one year after being elevated to the role.
He had been lashed in the findings by Commissioner Patricia Bergin, who said it was “totally inexplicable” he failed to act when red flags were raised about the bank accounts multiple times over several years, including ANZ closing them, prompting Crown to simply turn to Commonwealth Bank.
Counsel assisting Michael Feutrill asked if the Riverbank Investments name aimed to mask the destination of the VIP patrons’ funds.
“Well, the account was in existence when I joined the company, but I did have some understanding that … there was a desire by some patrons to not have the name of the casino in as the counterparty to some financial transactions,” Mr Barton said.
Mr Feutrill went on to ask: “Did it raise in your mind any red flags, to use that expression, or alarm bells that an account of this character maybe facilitate(s) money laundering?”
“Not at the time,” Mr Barton replied.
The royal commission was also told Crown’s anti-money laundering (AML) compliance officer could use their discretion in deciding whether the gaming giant would deal with a patron known to have engaged in money laundering or considered at extreme risk of being involved in such conduct.
“The risk appetite (was) set fairly extremely to one end rather than the other isn’t it not?” Mr Feutrill asked.
“Yes, I think a high-risk customer who is actively and known to have engaged in those things, there shouldn’t be discretion,” Mr Barton replied.
The NSW inquiry was told Crown had even been warned by financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC in 2017 that the chief of its Macau-based junket partner, Alvin Chau, was “both a foreign PEP (politically exposed person) and has a substantial criminal history”.
Chau is alleged to be a member of the 14K triad gang and has been banned from entering Australia, reportedly in 2019.
The commission was also told that despite Mr Barton being with the company for a decade, he did not receive formal training on AML or counter-terrorism financing until last year.
“I spent quite a bit of time with the then head of the AML team and gained a deep understanding through the course of last year about the AML program and the AML issues to do with Crown,” he said.
In addition to the money laundering scandal, the Perth investigation is looking into how WA’s gaming regulator handled Crown and whether the company took its responsible service of gaming obligations seriously.
It was told on Monday details of Crown’s voluntary program for punters who want to restrict their gambling, known as Play Safe, which touts itself as setting time and money spending limits.
But the only consequence of exceeding those limits is the customer stops accruing loyalty points under the Crown Rewards scheme, which gives players 100 points – or $1 they can use in gaming – for every $500 they spend gambling.
“You are not locked out from playing … so it’s not really a limit, is it?” counsel assisting David Leigh asked Crown Perth gaming product manager James Sullivan.
“Certainly not in terms of not allowing you to play,” Mr Sullivan replied.
Mr Leigh asked Mr Sullivan if he would agree missing out on loyalty points was an incentive to avoid the program “because doing so won’t stop you from gambling, but it will stop you from getting any potential reward if you keep gambling?”
“I don’t believe that’s the intention of it. But I do accept it’s not forcing you to stop playing at the end of the process,” Mr Sullivan responded.