Hundreds of millions believed laundered at Crown Casino Perth through $2 shell company

International criminal organisations are believed to have been using a $2 shell company to launder money at Crown Perth from at least 2014.

Key points:

A damning report found Crown "enabled or facilitated" laundering

Money flowed from shell company Riverview Investments to Crown Perth

Crown's Perth casino licence is now facing intense scrutiny

As the bombshell report of the NSW inquiry into casino operator Crown has outlined, the company called Riverbank Investments Pty Ltd was the conduit for hundreds of millions of dollars to Perth's monopoly casino.

WA's casino watchdog was made aware of this account, but despite media allegations of money laundering and the high-profile investigation into how Crown does business in recent years, appeared to take little interest.

Commissioner Patricia Bergin said in her report that Riverbank and a similar company called Southbank, which channelled money to Crown Melbourne, were "infiltrated and exploited by criminal elements, probably including international criminal organisations" since at least 2014.

The report said that through these accounts, "hundreds of millions of dollars were deposited and swept into the accounts of Crown's casinos".

"There can be no doubt that the processes adopted by Crown outlined above enabled or facilitated money laundering through the Southbank and Riverbank accounts," the report said.

ASIC records show Riverbank Investments Pty Ltd is a $2 company owned by Crown Resorts Limited, with Crown Resorts chief executive Ken Barton its sole director and company secretary Mary Manos its secretary.

Crown patrons would deposit money into the account, which would be transferred to Crown Perth to be credited to the patron's deposit account at the casino.

Many of these deposits were under $10,000, which meant they did not have to be reported to AUSTRAC, which monitors financial transactions.

Red flags were first raised by the ANZ six months after Riverbank opened an account with the bank.

It raised its concerns with Crown in January 2014 about suspicious deposits of less than $10,000 made by the same person at different Perth branches.

Despite the bank, and later AUSTRAC, bringing up its concerns with senior Crown executives, the Crown board was never informed.

"No action was taken to close down the operations of Southbank or Riverbank, or implement additional controls to prevent the accounts being exploited for the purposes of money laundering," the report said.

Watchdog aware of Riverbank account

This continued over many years, until media reports about the two private companies being used to deposit the proceeds of crime were first aired in 2019, sparking the inquiry commissioned by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority.

The report also said that WA's casino watchdog, the Gaming and Wagering Commission, was aware of the account.

Crown Resorts has also been a regular donor to all sides of politics.

Australian Electoral Commission records show it donated about $185,000 in 2019-20, with just over $88,000 going to WA political parties.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-11/millions-believed-laundered-at-crown-perth-via-$2-shell-company/13142104

HYPOCRITES: Dem Impeachment Leader Attempted to Block Trump Election Certification

Lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin objected to the certification of Florida’s electoral college votes in 2017.

A stunning display of hypocrisy, Raskin voiced his objection during the certification of President Trump’s victory in January 2017.

“I have an objection because 10 of the 29 electoral votes cast by Florida were cast by electors not lawfully certified because they violate Florida’s prohibition against dual office holding,” the Maryland representative noted before then-Vice President Biden interjected.

Biden vetted Raskin’s objection to ensure it was “in writing” and “signed by a senator.” Raskin failed to obtain a senator’s signature, prompting Biden to ultimately deny the objection.

https://thenationalpulse.com/breaking/dem-impeachment-leader-election-certification/

Biden Unveils ‘China Task Force’ at Pentagon

President Joe Biden announced the formation of a “Department of Defense China Task Force” on Wednesday.

Ely Ratner, a special assistant to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, will lead the effort. The task force has four months to develop recommendations for senior defense leaders.

Austin and newly sworn in Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks called China the “pacing threat” for America in this era of strategic competition:

China is seeking to overturn the current rules-based structure, which has benefitted all nations in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States and its allies seek to continue the free and open environment in the region. China is using all elements of national power to bend the nations to its will.

The United States is conducting freedom of navigation operations to ensure all nations can use international waterways and air routes. The U.S. is working with allies to improve policing of national borders and exclusive economic zones to ensure sovereignty.

Countering Chinese efforts is the focus of the task force.

Defense officials called the task force a “sprint effort” that will examine high-priority topics including strategy, operational concepts, technology and force structure, force posture and force management and intelligence. The task force will also examine U.S. alliances and partnerships and their impact on Sino-American relations and DOD relations with China.

The 15-member task force will come from a wide swath of the department and include the Office of the Secretary of Defense staff, the Joint Staff, the services, the combatant commands and representatives from the intelligence community.

The task force will also speak with interagency partners to ensure the defense response is aligned with the whole-of-government approach toward China that the president wants.

https://breaking911.com/biden-unveils-china-task-force-at-pentagon/