<br>It took the arrest of Macau-based junket operator Suncity’s CEO for the company to be stopped from running private gaming rooms at Sydney’s Star casino.<br> <br>A meeting of Star managers in 2018 heard of a “big fat red flag” that the junket operator was breaching its agreement with the casino and posed a money laundering risk, years before it ceased operating.<br> <br>Star’s general manager of financial crime and investigations Kevin Houlihan on Thursday resumed giving evidence to the NSW gaming regulator’s inquiry into the casino’s fitness to hold a licence.<br> <br>He made the decision to stop Suncity’s operations at The Star following the arrest of the company’s CEO Alvin Chau in November.<br> <br>Prior to that arrest, Mr Houlihan had decided the junkets could continue operating if Suncity abided with mitigations suggested by the casino following an investigation.<br> <br>Mr Houlihan agreed he was aware by August 2019 Suncity was handling cash transactions contrary to its agreement with the casino, that its staff did not co-operate with a subsequent internal investigation, that associates of Suncity had been criminally charged for dealing with criminal proceeds, and that continuing with the group could harm Star’s reputation.<br> <br>A note from senior Star investigator Andrew McGregor, quoted at the hearing by counsel assisting Naomi Sharp SC, had earlier warned: “We have an entity within our four walls which is totally non-compliant to reasonable requests for basic information … operating a business model under our noses which is problematic”.<br> <br>”Let’s cut to the chase here, this is a big fat red flag for money laundering going on in Salon 95,” Ms Sharp said.<br> <br>”It’s a red flag yes,” Mr Houlihan responded.<br> <br>Mr Houlihan said the matter had been referred to the police and rejected suggestions Star’s investigation was too slow.<br> <br>”We took the opportunity to slow down and do a proper due diligence report to get it right,” Mr Houlihan said.<br> <br>A report compiled for the Hong Kong Jockey Club in 2018 by Star’s current due diligence and intelligence manager Angus Buchanan had also found alleged links to triads and money laundering.<br> <br>He shared the report internally a month after joining Star in May 2019.<br> <br>”This report was shared confidentially by Mr Buchanan and the appropriate people had a copy,” Mr Houlihan said.<br> <br>He said it was not shared widely within Star or with the regulator for that reason.<br> <br>Also not shared with the regulator was a second passport held by prolific Star spender, Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo.<br> <br>The inquiry heard the two passports – one from the Republic of China and the other from Hong Kong – in different names with different birthdates, were both known to The Star, however only one was shared with the regulator.<br> <br>Star was aware of Mr Huang’s second passport as early as 2017, as well as more than a billion dollars in buy-ins he had made on table games in the preceding years.<br> <br>”Would that second passport have raised a question about the propriety of him being able to gamble at the casino?” Junior counsel assisting Casper Conde asked Mr Houlihan.<br> <br>”It certainly would have raised questions, yes,” Mr Houlihan responded.<br> <br>He told the hearing he did not recall being asked to investigate Mr Huang’s multiple passports.<br> <br>The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption recently found $100,000 in cash secretly donated to the NSW Labor party via former MP Ernest Wong was withdrawn from Mr Huang’s account at The Star.<br> <br>His permanent residency and citizenship application were both cancelled in 2019.<br> <br>The inquiry is examining whether the Sydney casino has been infiltrated by criminal activity, and if its casino licence should be withdrawn.<br> <br>There have been calls for a similar investigation of the company’s licence in Queensland.<br>

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