CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Two Australian executives of the country’s largest casino operator are in good health after being detained in China last week over suspected gambling crimes, but they still do not know whether they would be charged, an Australian official said Wednesday.
The head of Crown Resorts Ltd.’s VIP International team, Jason O’Connor, was among three Australian and 15 Chinese Crown employees detained on Thursday or Friday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said. They have been caught up in an apparent crackdown on overseas tours for high rollers.
Australian consular officials visited O’Connor and another Australian, whose name was not made public, in Shanghai for the first time on Tuesday, Bishop said. The third Australian was a dual Chinese citizen who might have been traveling on his Chinese passport, she said. In that case, China would treat him as a Chinese national and he would not be entitled to Australian consular support.
“Our consular officials had an extensive visit yesterday. They are in good health. Their well-being is looked after,” Bishop told reporters. “We will continue to make consular visits as and when we can.”
The Chinese can keep the employees in detention for up to 30 days before charging them. That period could be extended for another week to allow further investigation, Bishop said.
“It might be some time before we know what charges, if any, they are facing. But in the meantime, our concern is to ensure they are being appropriately treated and we found yesterday that they were,” she said.
Crown is providing the employees with legal representation.
Crown’s largest shareholder and founder, James Packer, an Australian gaming mogul with a personal fortune estimated by Forbes business magazine at $3.6 billion, said on Tuesday that he was “deeply concerned for the welfare” of the detained employees.
The Chinese foreign ministry said in a regular briefing on Monday that the Australians have been detained for suspected involvement in gambling crimes, but did not provide further details.
Fairfax Media reported that police took the three Australians, who were visiting China on business, and local Chinese employees based in several Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, away from their homes late Thursday and detained them.
The raids were part of an apparent crackdown on the firm’s operations to lure high-worth Chinese gamblers to its Australian casinos, Fairfax said.
Casino gambling is illegal on the mainland and Chinese law prohibits agents from organizing groups of more than 10 Chinese citizens to gamble abroad. The crime is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment. The industry has been known to skirt the ban by touting destination packages.
Casino operators have sought to lure Chinese high-rollers who have avoided Macau since President Xi Jinping’s ongoing corruption crackdown deters visits to the offshore enclave that is the only place in China where casinos are legal.
In 2015, police arrested 13 South Korean casino managers and 34 Chinese agents for selling packages with free tours, free hotels and sexual services.
Crown declined to say why O’Connor was in China. Crown has said in recent financial disclosures its “International VIP” business segment has surged in recent years thanks to ramped up overseas marketing.
Crown shares fell 14 percent to close on Monday at AU$11.15 ($8.47), the biggest single-day decline in the company’s history. Shares inched higher on Tuesday to AU$11.34.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
