James Packer will once again be put through the wringer at a Crown Resorts investigation. Will he again beam in from his luxury yacht?
James Packer will once again be grilled on Crown Resorts’ explosive money laundering scandal, with West Australian authorities confirming his appearance at the ongoing royal commission in Perth.
The reclusive billionaire is scheduled to appear via video link at 6.30am WST on October 29 after fronting the bruising NSW inquiry the same way – from his luxury yacht – over two days in October last year.
The inquiry was told Mr Packer’s influence as Crown’s biggest shareholder and former chairman had been “disastrous”, as he was the driving force to secure more of the Chinese high-roller junket market at the centre of the scandal.
It was said to have occurred in private, dedicated rooms at the Melbourne casino, which sparked the now complete Victorian royal commission, and also the Perth venue.
Mr Packer is likely to be grilled on his relationship with former director John Poynton, who had been a nominee on Crown’s board for Mr Packer and reluctantly resigned in March after being “placed under significant pressure … both privately and in media statements” to quit.
That’s according to Mr Poynton’s lawyer Peter Ward, who in July told the Perth proceedings his client had been pushed out by both former chair Helen Coonan and the NSW regulator.
Crown has gutted its board – as strongly suggested by NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority chair Philip Crawford – but a key area of contention remains: Mr Packer’s 37 per cent stake in the gaming giant through his private investment vehicle Consolidated Press Holdings.
In August, the NSW government accepted every one of the 19 recommendations from the inquiry’s report, including amending the Casino Control Act so that a person may not acquire, hold or transfer an interest of 10 per cent or more in a casino licensee without the prior approval of a new Independent Casino Commission.
But Mr Packer has indicated he’s going to put up a fight against moves to slash his voting power, with his lawyers arguing in responsive closing submissions to the Victorian royal commission that doing so was not necessary.
“The mere holding of shares, even a large parcel of shares, in a holding company does not of itself give a person influence over and with respect to the management or operation of the casino business,” CPH lawyers wrote.
The NSW probe was told Mr Packer received special treatment, with briefings on an almost daily basis under a “controlling shareholder protocol”, which was torn up after the evidence emerged.
Also scheduled to appear at the Perth royal commission is new chair and former telco supremo Ziggy Switkowski and interim chair Jane Halton, who has a full plate as chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and as a non-executive director of ANZ bank.
Meanwhile, the Victorian royal commission headed by former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein is handing its final report to the state’s Governor on Friday, with public release and the Victorian government’s response due by the end of this month.
The NSW inquiry resulted in Crown being deemed unfit to hold a gambling licence for its new $2.2bn venue towering over Sydney at Barangaroo.
Earlier this week, ILGA suggested the company had a long way to go to redeem itself.
“Crown is required to undertake significant change to satisfy the authority that it is on a pathway to become suitable to hold a gaming licence,” the regulator said.
“It will take further time for Crown to fully implement that change and for the authority to give it proper consideration before making its determination.”
Originally published as Reclusive billionaire James Packer to front Perth royal commission into money laundering scandal
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