Crown Resorts has issued a lengthy rebuttal to the allegations levelled at it by Australian media last weekend, describing the reporting as “unbalanced and sensationalised” and refuting multiple examples of what it calls misleading journalism.
In a statement titled “Setting the record straight in the face of a deceitful campaign against Crown”, the Australian casino operator angrily denied a range of accusations regarding its relationship with Asian junket operators, anti-money laundering controls, the arrests of 19 Crown Resorts employees in mainland China in 2016 and the visa approval processes of its VIP customers.
In particular, Crown referred to multiple connections made with various individuals including one alleged to be receiving a plastic bag of cash who it said was excluded from the casino by Crown of its own volition more than six years ago and another to an organisation called The Company, which Crown said it had no dealings or knowledge of.
It also rejected any links to all junket operators mentioned in the media reports other than Suncity Group, noting that none of the media reports conveyed the fact that junkets “are an established and accepted part of the operations of international casinos.”
Notably, Crown described the objectivity of key sources in television interviews aired by current affairs program “60 Minutes” as open to question, including one of the 19 former Crown staff arrested in 2016, Jenny Jiang, of previously making “an unsuccessful demand for compensation from Crown of over 50 times her annual salary.”
Although restricted in its response to accusations of flouting anti-money laundering laws, Crown said it welcomed the opportunity to provide such information to assist a pending investigation by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
“As an ASX listed company and a Board we are always striving to ensure we have the highest levels of governance and a commitment to the highest standards. It is deeply disappointing that the media involved in these inflammatory stories have not upheld the same principles,” it said.
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