New Report Warns Of Dangers From Junket Operations

AUSTRAC the watchdog for money laundering in Australia last week released a report into casino junket operators warning that the operations were vulnerable to criminal activities because of the large amount of cash involved.

The watchdog said that casinos should ensure they do more to protect themselves and their customers to the potential dangers of criminal gangs infiltrating junket operations.

AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose said, “Money laundering and financial crime enables serious criminal activity such as drug trafficking and human trafficking which causes harm to our communities,” she went on to say, “The information contained in this risk assessment shows that junkets are highly vulnerable to criminal misuse and Australian casinos must do more to mitigate ML/TF risks. I urge casinos to take prompt action by assessing their levels of risk posed by junket operations, strengthening their controls and reporting suspicious activity to AUSTRAC.”

The report comes at a time where Crown Resorts have been in the middle of a major investigation into its suitability to hold a gaming license given the involvement and weaknesses in its processes towards junket operations and criminal activities involved in them.