Rachael Kelly/Stuff
Joann Brand of the Hokonui Rununga speaks at the Gore District Council’s Draft Gambling Policy and TAB Venues Policy hearing.
The upwards trajectory of spending on gambling in the Gore district means organised crime must be laundering money in the area because it can’t be attributed to anything legal, and a social impact review on the effects of gambling needs to be done by the Gore District Council to find out what is going on, Hokonui Rūnanga staffer Joann Brand says. ”It’s a big rise, and so you do an impact study to see where it’s coming from,’’ Brand said before a hearing into a review of the Gore District Council’s Draft Gambling Policy and TAB Venues Policy on Tuesday night.
Rachael Kelly17:08, May 04 2021
John Selkirk/Stuff
Money laundering claims concerns the Gore District Council as it reviews its draft gambling policy and TAB venues policy. [File photo].
The chairman of the Hokonui Rūnanga says he was not aware of a submission his organisation made which claims money laundering may be happening in the Gore District by organised crime. The claim was made by the Rūnanga in a submission to the Gore District Council’s Draft Gambling Policy and TAB Venues Policy, which will be heard next week. But chairman Terry Nicholas said he was not aware of the submission, written by staff member Joann Brand, which said ‘’there seems to be a link between P users and gambling practices which indicates a money laundering process may also be employed by organised crime locally.’’