Federal Court Fines Star Entertainment $260 Million Over Money Laundering Breaches
Australia's largest listed casino company, The Star Entertainment Group, was fined $260 million by the Federal Court for repeated anti-money laundering…
Justice Cameron Moore of the Federal Court said the money laundering breaches at The Star Entertainment Group were serious enough to warrant a significant penalty, as he fined the company $260 million on Wednesday. The Star is Australia's largest listed casino company.
The fine follows repeated breaches of anti-money laundering laws. Those breaches led to the suspension of Star's casino licences in New South Wales and Queensland. The penalty came a day after shareholders met for the company's annual meeting in Sydney.
A penalty between two extremes
Australia's financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, began legal action against Star in 2022. It sought a $400 million penalty. Star argued that any fine above $100 million could force it into liquidation.
Justice Moore rejected both positions. He said the $100 million Star proposed was too low and the $400 million AUSTRAC wanted was too high.
In his judgement, he said it was important to deter Star from putting profit over compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) laws. He added that the court also had to consider the casino's financial position.
"The contraventions are serious, and a significant penalty is warranted," he said.
What the court found
AUSTRAC accused Star of failing to adequately address money-laundering risks in its dealings with the Asian gambling junket Suncity and its funder. It also accused the company of continuing to deal with them after becoming aware of reports of criminal links.
The court heard that a man with known criminal links funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars through the casino. Justice Moore said facilitating the movement of money overseas, and turning a blind eye to customers who posed a money laundering or terrorist financing risk, was a "significant part of Star's business".
He called the conduct "egregious". Not oversights, either. "They were not mere oversights from time to time," he said.
Justice Moore compared the case with the Crown and Sky City breaches of AML laws, while noting significant differences between them. He said the number of contraventions by Star of different parts of the act was "immeasurable". The maximum penalty was therefore a very large, incalculable amount.
Why the fine was not higher
The judge said the penalty would have been higher if not for the significant remediation efforts under way at Star. He also noted that the company had already paid fines for conduct that "significantly overlaps" with the conduct in these proceedings.
He said Star's profitability is such that it is likely to need to raise money to pay any penalty. That matters for a company that owns casinos in Sydney and the Gold Coast and runs one in Brisbane, and that had warned of liquidation.
Justice Moore ordered that $195 million of the penalty be attributed to conduct in Sydney and $65 million to Queensland. Star must pay in four instalments over 19 months.
Earlier consequences
In June, Star's former CEO and its lawyer were collectively fined more than $1.1 million for breaches of the Corporations Act. They were disqualified from holding a corporate office for six and seven years respectively.
US gaming giant Bally's Corp and the Mathieson family had earlier put forward a $300 million rescue package. It saved the business from administration in April 2025.
Source: abc.net.au
