Crown Resorts Finalizes CPH and James Packer Deals
James Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH) got two Crown Resorts deals terminated ahead of Crown's shareholders' annual general meeting (AGM).
No More Exclusive Knowledge To Shareholder
On Wednesday 21 October, Crown Resorts announced that it had ended the Controlling Shareholder Protocol, an arrangement dated 31 October 2018 in which CPH and James Packer both sharing proprietary details from the casino group. The details exchanged with the corporation that actually owns a 36.8% interest in Crown and its owner has not been shared with the shareholders left.
In addition to the 2018 shareholder procedure, Crown Resorts has terminated the Service Agreement as of 1 July 2016, which "allowed crown to order the supply of services at pre-agreed hourly rates by key CPH executives". The announcement that both deals will be terminated arrives right on the eve of Crown Resorts AGM scheduled for Thursday, where major changes are planned at the board stage.
Investigations Into AML Tests At Crown
The casino corporation is under scrutiny from two regulatory bodies, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) in New South Wales (NSW), as both probe alleged compliance lapses at the casino for anti-money laundering (AML).
On Wednesday former chairman of crown resorts, Robert Rankin, was told the NSW investigation should be investigated for alleged breaches of his duties as a CEO. The lawyer helping the investigation, Scott Aspinall told Rankin commission in 2015 may have infringed his duties on two occasions.
Rankin, who acted as Crown chairman between August 2015 and January 2016 and remained director until June 2016, first, did not warn the rest of the board that the Chinese authorities would move against crown employees in China, and second, he neglected to notify the other directors about the threats he got from CPH owner James Packer via e-mail.
In addition, Robert Rankin declined to provide testimony and efforts to subpoena him in England had failed, Aspinall further explained, telling the commissioner of inquiry Patricia Bergin SC that evidence indicated Rankin had neglected to serve his duties on both occasions, without justifiable cause.
Ex Controller Confirms Accusations To Junket
Earlier in the hearing, former Crown Resorts director Geoff Dixon told commissioners that the 2014 claims that some junket operators had ties to organized crime were correct. Dixon was one of two Crown directors named by the company's main shareholder james packer on the suggestion. He joined the packer Publishing and Broadcasting Limited family of Crown Resorts and retired in October 2019.
Dixon also told the inquiry that he was chairing many claims of illegal activity in junkets or money laundering by Crown's casinos had not been placed before the risk committee.
