The report by independent commissioner Patricia Bergin, published on Tuesday, found Crown facilitated money laundering and failed to act when it was drawn to their attention. It also put its staff in China in danger of being detained and dealt with junket operators it had been told were involved in organised crime.
Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
Australia’s Crown Resorts may have to blow itself up to save itself, a NSW gaming regulator says. Crawford said money laundering and organised crime were pretty scary terms for a regulator, indicating Crown would have to work hard to persuade him they were ready to run a casino in NSW.
Crown Resorts CEO Ken Barton and director Andrew Demetriou are under increasing pressure to resign, as gambling regulators in NSW and Victoria zero in on the embattled company.
Crown CEO Ken Barton bows to pressure and agrees to resign
ThuThursday 11
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ThuThursday 11
Crown s CEO Ken Barton will resign after pressure from gaming regulators.
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Crown chief executive Ken Barton appears likely to step down in the coming days after bowing to increasing pressure from gaming authorities, following a damning report into the Australian casino giant.
Key points:
Mr Barton is understood to have indicated he intends to resign shortly following a report highly critical of his role
Two Crown board members resigned on Wednesday amid pressure from gambling regulators
Mr Barton met on Thursday with Crown chair Helen Coonan when he offered his resignation, the ABC understands
Charles Livingstone
Crown casino and hotel development, Barangaroo Sydney. Dan Himbrecht/AAP
After months of hearings, characterised by spectacular admissions including threats of violence, the report of the Bergin Inquiry into the probity of Crown Sydney Gaming, a subsidiary of Crown Resorts Limited, has been tabled in the NSW parliament.
Crown Resorts runs the Crown casinos in Melbourne and Perth.
The Inquiry found that Crown Sydney Gaming was “not a suitable person” to operate the Sydney casino.
It also found the parent, Crown Resorts Limited, was “not suitable to be a close associate of the licensee”.
The serious corporate failures relate to
Under-fire Crown Resorts CEO set to resign Crown Resorts CEO Ken Barton is understood to have agreed to resign following a meeting with chair Helen Coonan on Thursday.
Business by Damon Kitney, Lachlan Moffet Gray 11th Feb 2021 6:38 PM
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Subscriber only Under-fire Crown Resorts CEO Ken Barton is understood to have agreed to resign his role following a meeting with chair Helen Coonan on Thursday, amid criticism from the NSW and Victorian gaming regulators over his suitability in light of findings against him in the Bergin report on the James Packer-backed company. But The Australian understands that similarly embattled Crown director Andrew Demetriou is clinging on to his position, despite his suitability also being called into question by the regulators and the Bergin report.