Kate Richardson, SC, said the casino failed to conduct probity checks on $70 million in gambling debt repayments over four years, opening its door to increased money laundering and terrorism risks.
The Star’s lawyers conceded the gaming giant employed a “deficient” operating procedure that allowed overseas deposits to be made without authorisation from late 2017 to October 2021. Bekier denied that he sought to persuade KPMG and said he was frustrated but “not rude and aggressive”. Star later erroneously claimed legal privilege over the 2018 KPMG report to hide it from the financial crimes watchdog. The review heard Bekier furiously rejected a KPMG audit that found his company was failing to tackle money laundering, before the group re-hired its authors in an attempt to water down their damning report.
