Crown Resorts agreed to pay 450 million Australian dollars (U.S. $292 million) and overhaul its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism compliance controls for repeatedly violating Australia’s AML/CFT law.
Crown, which includes casino resort sites Crown Perth and Crown Melbourne, admitted in a tentative agreement with Australia’s financial regulator, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), it violated the country’s AML/CFT rules between March 2016 and November 2020.
The agreement is not final until it is approved by the court, which has scheduled a hearing on the matter in July, AUSTRAC said Tuesday in a press release.
The details: Crown failed to assess its risk related to money laundering and terrorism financing and didn’t have appropriate AML controls in place, according to a statement of agreed facts filed with the Federal Court of Australia.
The casino sector is known to be at risk of accepting and laundering “dirty money” from criminals involved in the illicit drug trade, scams, and human trafficking, said AUSTRAC Chief Executive Nicole Rose in the agency’s release.
“Crown’s contraventions of the [AML/CFT Act] meant that a range of obviously high-risk practices, behaviors, and customer relationships were allowed to continue unchecked for many years,” Rose said.
Crown did have a customer due diligence program, but it didn’t ensure transactions by higher-risk customers were more closely scrutinized, according to the statement of facts.
The company also didn’t have appropriate procedures in place for the board and senior management to fulfill their duty to oversee the company’s AML/CFT programs, according to the statement of facts.
Compliance considerations: Crown cooperated with AUSTRAC’s investigation and responded by strengthening its AML/CFT compliance and financial crime risk controls, Rose said. The company also admitted it should have made the improvements earlier.
The statement of facts noted Crown’s boards and senior management have been “completely reconstituted” in the aftermath of the deficiencies.
Crown said in a statement it has invested AUS$40 million (U.S. $26 million) into its financial crime compliance program; expanded its financial crime and compliance team by approximately 170 employees; and enhanced its financial crime training for staff, board members, and senior management.
Company response: “The company that committed these unacceptable, historic breaches is far removed from the company that exists today,” stated Crown CEO Ciarán Carruthers.
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