SkyCity has reached an agreement with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) regarding historical non-compliance by SkyCity Casino Management with the New Zealand Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.
The civil penalty proceedings commenced in February, concluding that SkyCity Casino Management had breached the act between 2018 and 2023. Despite audit reports from the DIA starting in 2014 highlighting ‘deficiencies in SkyCity’s AML/CFT risk assessment and program,’ these issues were not addressed until mid-2021.
SkyCity Casino Management admitted to failing in its obligations, including completing compliant risk assessments, compliance programs, account monitoring, and customer due diligence. Consequently, SkyCity was fined NZ$4.16m (US$2.54m).
In response to these deficiencies, since late 2021, SkyCity has revamped its board, adding directors with risk assessment expertise, and established a committee focused on risk and compliance. SkyCity has also enhanced customer due diligence, ceased junket operations, and lowered its risk tolerance, among other measures.
This settlement follows SkyCity’s proposal to the Federal Court of Australia for a penalty of AU$67m (US$44.6m) for violations of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, in collaboration with The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).
SkyCity Executive Chair Julian Cook commented: “Our enhancement activities are ongoing, and significant work remains in New Zealand and Australia, which will take time to complete. We have launched a comprehensive multi-year transformation program to strengthen our risk management across the SkyCity Group.”
Regarding the agreement with the DIA, Cook stated: “On behalf of the SkyCity Board and management team, I accept and apologize for these long-standing failures. We have not met the standards we set for ourselves, nor the expectations of our regulators, customers, shareholders, and the communities we serve.
