AUSTRAC and SkyCity have jointly submitted a proposal to the Federal Court of Australia, requesting the operator to pay a penalty of AU$67 million (US$44.6 million) for contravening the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006.
The proposal is scheduled for consideration on 7 June by Justice Lee, who will evaluate whether the proposed penalty is appropriate or needs modification.
SkyCity has acknowledged its wrongdoing in connection with the charges, admitting that it failed to adhere to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regulations as outlined in section 81 of the Act. Additionally, it admitted to failing to fulfill customer due diligence requirements for higher-risk clients as stipulated in section 36.
This is not the first instance of regulatory scrutiny for SkyCity in recent times. In September of the previous year, SkyCity Casino encountered a temporary suspension of its license due to compliance issues. Further challenges within the company were evident with the departure of SkyCity Entertainment CEO Michael Ahearne in October and Australia COO David Christian in April.
Similarly, AUSTRAC has initiated several new investigations lately, including one into bet365 for violations of the same legislation imposed on SkyCity.
Regarding the recent penalty proposal, AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas expressed concern over SkyCity’s conduct, which allowed numerous high-risk practices, behaviors, and customer relationships to persist unchecked over many years.
Instances of inadequate oversight and compliance with AML practices have been observed across various operators in Australia. In April, BlueBet incurred a AU$50,000 fine for breaches in advertising regulations, while The Star Entertainment faced additional allegations of misconduct. This has resulted in the resignation of several company executives, including Gold Coast CEO Jessica Mellor and Chair David Foster.
