Contrite Star promises to try harder
STAR Entertainment Group’s new chiefs have vowed to urgently do all it takes to deliver a remediation plan that will allow it to keep its Sydney casino licence.
Sydney chief executive Scott Wharton said The Star had “new management and new eyes acting with urgency” to fix problems found in a damning inquiry headed by Adam Bell SC.
His comments came after The Star’s executive chairman Ben Heap issued a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange saying it acknowledged the unsuitability and “gravity of the conduct” highlighted in the report.
The casino operator, which includes The Star Gold Coast in its stable, had 14 days to respond to the damning report which found evidence of fraud, money laundering and links to organised crime which said it was unsuitable to hold a licence at the casino in Pyrmont.
Mr Heap said The Star “has taken significant and urgent remedial steps, including increased risk, compliance, and security staff, approval of upgrades to surveillance technology as well as permanently exiting junkets and closing the Marquee nightclub.
“We are committed to do what it takes to deliver our Remediation Plan and restore The Star Sydney to suitability,” he said.
Following the publication of the Bell inquiry findings, NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) chief Philip Crawford said casino bosses had shown an “unwillingness to show the right level of transparency” and a “breathtaking” level of “institutional arrogance”. Mr Heap conceded that it was “plain that we had not acted with the necessary urgency” and said The Star had a lot of work to do to restore “a constructive and open working relationship” with the watchdog. Mr Wharton accepted all criticisms levelled at the casino and vowed a new era of transparency with a quarterly independent review of its performance by international law firm Allen Overy to be published on its website.
The Bulletin understands almost 20 senior executives have followed chief executive Matt Bekkier and resigned since March, including interim CEO Geoff Hogg on Monday.
“In the spirit of urgency we have taken really tangible steps including creating a new role of chief risk officer,” Mr Wharton said. That position will be filled by Westpac’s head of financial crime and compliance, Scott Saunders.