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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-17 Daily Xml
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SkyCity Adelaide

The Hon. C. BONAROS (15:33): SA-Best has today urged the state government to commit to an independent investigation into the Adelaide Casino operations of the SkyCity Entertainment Group for any evidence of criminal activity. I have written to the Commissioner for Consumer and Business Services, Mr Dini Soulio, requesting his office undertake the inquiry. My concerns have been sparked by legal action launched in the Supreme Court of South Australia by Chinese millionaire Mr Linong Ma against SkyCity Adelaide and junket operators Xiongming Xie and Fang Zhuangqian in relation to gambling sessions at the Casino in May 2019 during which Mr Ma allegedly won more than $5 million.

In his statement of claim Mr Ma claims Mr Xie was arrested in Sydney in July 2019 and charged with 'having allegedly…threatened a man with a knife, demanded the transfer of a $10 million property and stabbed the man almost to death'. Further, Mr Ma claims that when SkyCity transferred money to the Supreme Court it inquired 'whether or not Mr Xie was a dangerous and violent criminal', and 'had links with Asian triad criminal gangs'.

These claims deeply disturbed me and reinforced what SA-Best has long feared; that is, that criminal groups may be using our Casino, amongst others, to launder money and other illegal activities. Casinos around the world are notorious for being used by crime gangs like the mafia and the triads to launder their dirty money, and there are similar issues now being raised in relation to the Casino in Adelaide.

The state government and authorities are absolutely in denial if they think illegal activity does not take place at gambling establishments like those we have in Adelaide. One need look no further than the damning report released in New South Wales just last month that found Crown Resorts, the owner of casinos in Melbourne and Perth, is not suitable to hold a casino licence in that state, despite having already built a $2.2 billion complex in Sydney's new Barangaroo precinct.

The Bergen report, undertaken by former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergen, uncovered major flaws in the company's corporate governance, which facilitated money laundering and links with criminal gangs in Crown's operations in Victoria and Western Australia—alarming findings. The report recommended that junket operators be banned from dealing with casino operators in that state, that legislation be tightened to put the onus on casinos to prevent money laundering and that serious criminal elements, probably including international criminal organisations, had run hundreds of millions of dollars through casino accounts.

Those revelations have triggered royal commissions in Victoria and WA, both looking into Crown Resorts and its dealings with junket operators as well as claiming the scalps of the high-profile Crown Resorts CEO and a number of board members. It begs the question: what independent checks and balances does our state government have in place to ensure illegal activity is not occurring in South Australia, or does it simply take as gospel what Casino management tells it?

The state government's reluctance to investigate the Casino disturbs me greatly, particularly given the serious allegations of questionable junket operators frequenting the facility with their guests. It makes one wonder if the hundreds of millions of dollars a year the government receives from SkyCity Adelaide in taxes from its gambling operations have any influence at all.

I think the Treasurer needs to explain, in more detail than he has initially, why he is so reluctant to investigate SkyCity Adelaide. To pin that decision solely on the commissioner, who has apparently advised the government that an independent inquiry into the Casino is not necessary at this time, blatantly ignores his broader responsibilities to the taxpayers of South Australia.

There is now compelling evidence before the courts in South Australia alleging that questionable junket operators are also frequenting the Casino. Further, given the heightened scrutiny by regulators and interstate casino operators following the Bergen report, there are increased concerns that individuals and criminal groups who use casinos for nefarious means are turning their attention to casinos like those in Adelaide, believing they are not subject to the same level of scrutiny. What more does the Treasurer need in terms of proof before calling for an inquiry?

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