Royal Commission: Crown Perth’s Joshua Preston chose not to probe bank account amid money laundering claims

Crown Perth’s most senior legal officer chose not to carry out an investigation into the bank account it set up for gambling patrons after media reports surfaced two years ago claiming it was used by criminal gangs to launder money. The royal commission into whether the company is fit to continue running Perth’s only casino was told today after the articles were published in 2019, Joshua Preston met with Crown’s former chief of anti-money laundering, Louise Lane, to discuss the possibility of conducting a probe into the Riverbank Investments account. Yesterday, the inquiry heard Riverbank Investments was a subsidiary of Burswood Ltd and was set up to operate bank accounts so patrons, mostly from overseas, could deposit money they intended to gamble at the casino. It was closed by the ANZ in 2014 after it raised concerns with Crown that multiple deposits of small amounts under $10,000 were being made. Today, the commission was told after seeking external legal advice, Mr Preston, who worked for Crown from 2006 until December last year, and who spent the latter part as the person responsible for ensuring the company met its legal and regulatory requirements, decided not to take the investigation any further. Details of his controversial decision were contained in the last statement he made to the Bergin inquiry in New South Wales last year which ruled Crown was not suitable to run a casino in Sydney. When asked by counsel assisting the inquiry, Michael Feutrill, if he was satisfied that statement was an accurate record of the events that took place in August 2019 including the fact after he received external advice that he made the decision not to take the investigation further, Mr Preston said yes. Yesterday, the inquiry heard after the ANZ Riverbank account was closed, no one in the anti-money laundering team at the Crown Perth carried out an investigation into the account until the Bergin inquiry. It was also told Crown then set up other accounts including one with the Commonwealth Bank, which was closed at the end of 2019. When asked by Mr Feutrill if he was involved with any meetings concerning the CBA account closure, Mr Preston said he could not recall. He also said he could not remember why the CBA account was closed saying Ms Lane was “managing that issue” but that he was briefed about it. When asked again if he became aware the reason CBA closed the account was because it was concerned it was being used to facilitate money laundering, Mr Preston replied: “I can’t recall specifically but I think the Bergin inquiry raised it”. “I think I became aware of it but I can’t recall specifics,” he added. When asked if he knew if Crown Perth took any steps to investigate who opened the Riverbank account, Mr Preston said: “Not to my knowledge”. He added the decision was made out of treasury which was based in Melbourne. The commission was also told today that Crown Perth kept old poker machines on the floor that allowed customers to play continuously by placing an object on the button despite a change in the law in WA. When asked why Crown Perth did not remove them from the floor when they weren’t compliant, Mr Preston said in his view they were still compliant adding the business did explore whether the function could be changed. He then told the commission the machines were also very popular with some patrons. When asked if they weren’t removed because of revenue consequences, Mr Preston replied: “I can’t answer that”. The inquiry continues.