Australia’s financial crimes watchdog AUSTRAC has served Crown Resorts with a statement of claim for the commencement of civil penalty proceedings against Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth, alleging contraventions of obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
The civil penalty proceedings follow a lengthy investigation by AUSTRAC, launched in October 2020, into potential non-compliance by Crown Melbourne. Crown had stated at the time that this potential non-compliance related to “ongoing customer due diligence, and adopting, maintain and complying with an anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing program.”
The investigation was specifically focused on Crown Melbourne’s management of customers identified as high risk and politically exposed persons – also a key area of concern identified by the recent Royal Commission into Melbourne’s casino.
