Director of star entertainment simon star stole millions
The Director of Star stole AU$13 million and went on the run
Simon Kim, the former senior vice president of international marketing for Australia’s Star Entertainment, left in 2020. He is now suspected of stealing a sum of AU$ 13.3 million (€ 9 million). This amount that Star Entertainment’s ex-employee took away is said to belong to a Chinese junket.
This is the latest revelation in the ongoing investigation that the State of New South Wales is conducting against Australian gambling company Star Entertainment, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. The investigation initially opened to see if Star Entertainment would be allowed to keep its Sydney casino license after a string of violations.
Accusations appear justified
The accusations against Simon Kim come from junket Kuan Koi. Lawyer Naomi Sharp told the Inquiry that the ex-director of Star Entertainment was accused of giving a “false transfer order” to the notorious junket Suncity. As a result, Koi’s money went to a bank account controlled by Kim instead of Star Entertainment. Kim is still without a trace.
Matt Bekier, the company’s former General Manager, told the investigation that he didn’t realize anything was wrong until Simon Kim was already gone by then. He also said that Star Entertainment reached a “settlement” with the junket over the matter.
Bekier resigned in March. This is to “take responsibility” for some of the company’s shortcomings.
Star Casino ran into trouble before
Earlier, the investigation revealed that a Chinese billionaire was able to deposit AU$1.7 billion into his account at Star Casino Sydney without any problems. However, at the time, the Australian casino did not conduct any investigation, something that violates anti-money laundering rules.
Last year, Star Casino Sydney pulled the plug on plans to merge with Crown Resorts. At the time, there was already talk that the company could lose its license in Australia. At the time, it was about Star Entertainment violating the rules on money laundering and junkets. Crown Resorts is also under fire in Australia for non-compliance with laws and regulations.