Crown Resorts takes out newspaper ads in attack on 'deceitful campaign'
Australian casino giant Crown Resorts (CWN.AX) issued full-page newspaper ads on Thursday describing recent media reports that alleged it pressured officials to fast-track visas for Chinese gamblers as a “deceitful campaign”.
Following the reports by several news outlets, Attorney General Christian Porter said on Tuesday he had referred the allegations to an anti-corruption body that investigates federal agencies, since they related to government officials.
After days of issuing brief statements denying wrongdoing, Crown circulated a letter signed by its board late on Wednesday, accusing the papers of waging a “deceitful campaign” that had unfairly attempted to damage its reputation.
“Much of this unbalanced and sensationalized reporting is based on unsubstantiated allegations, exaggerations, unsupported connections and outright falsehoods,” the directors said in the letter.
Signatories included Crown Executive Chairman John Alexander, former finance department head Jane Halton, former communications minister Helen Coonan and Geoff Dixon, the former chief executive of Qantas Airways (QAN.AX).
That statement appeared as full-page advertisements in papers owned by News Corp on Thursday. However, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers, which published the articles, said they had refused to run the advertisements and instead carried a line-by-line response to Crown’s statement.
“The stories were carefully sourced using Crown’s internal documents, former employees, credible commentators, dozens of sources from the industry, law enforcement and elsewhere, and careful verification,” the newspapers wrote in response to the Crown’s letter.
The papers, owned by Nine Entertainment Co Holdings (NEC.AX), added that they had asked Crown for an interview and sent 63 questions days before the reports, to which Crown responded “with a short statement” declining to comment on individuals.
Crown shares have fallen 6.4% in three trading days since the papers, and Nine’s “60 Minutes” television news program started running the reports.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-crown-resorts/crown-resorts-takes-out-newspaper-ads-in-attack-on-deceitful-campaign-idUSKCN1UR35Q
Xi Jinping's cousin embroiled in casinos and money laundering
The investigation of a TV broadcaster and two newspapers shows the links between Crown Resorts, which specializes in casinos and gambling, and members of the Australian parliament and policemen to facilitate trips for rich Chinese to Melbourne and Perth. The investigation lasted six months. The trips to Australia were organized by Shanghai.
The cousin of Chinese President Xi Jinping (see photo) and other Chinese Communist Party personalities are accused of being part of a scandal involving the Crown Resorts company, specializing in casinos and gambling, along with members of the Australian Parliament and policemen.
A six-month investigation by the "60 Minutes" broadcaster and the newspapers "The Age" and "The Sydney Morning Herald" led to the collection of tens of thousands of documents showing ties between Crown resorts, criminal organizations and figures of the Chinese Communist Party. The investigation revealed that Xi Jinping's cousin, Ming Chai, was among the passengers of a privatel uxury jet, made available to the casino, and that he was inspected by Australian federal agents on suspicion of money laundering.
Police searches found that members of the Victoria State law enforcement agencies were paid by members of the Chinese Communist Party to ensure safety for passengers on luxury jets. The trips were organized by Crown Resorts to bring wealthy Chinese to Melbourne and Perth, to gamble and launder money. Crown also had an office in Shanghai, from where the trips were organised.
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Xi-Jinping%27s-cousin-embroiled-in-casinos-and-money-laundering-47634.html
let them worry about it