Crown blamed previous fines, raised spectre of bankruptcy as it tried to shrink AUSTRAC penalty

Thursday, July 20, 2023 1:19 PM
  • Daniel Ziffer and Kristian Silva, ABC News

Disgraced gambling giant Crown used its history of egregious law-breaking to argue down the third-largest corporate fine in Australian history.

New figures reveal “high-risk customers” — some with known links to criminal organisations — brought $2.3 billion in revenue through the doors as Crown wooed them with private jets and rounds of golf.

Last week, the Federal Court ordered the gambling giant to pay $450 million for at least 546 breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws between 2016 and 2022, an action brought by financial crimes agency AUSTRAC.