Crown Perth has recently appointed a new cage boss, Jarrod Campbell, who has succeeded the previous cage boss, David Brown.
The royal commission has just found out that Mr Campbell saw no risk of money laundering in the $1.1 million overseas transfer he had helped prepare.
The transfer was conducted between a junket operator in Malaysia and a Crown bank account. It was all done via a money changer in Indonesia two years ago.
Jarrod Campbell oversaw the transfer of a considerable amount of different banknotes that also included the Singaporean currency. It was all done through Jakarta, Indonesia, and the whole operation was concluded in April 2019.
He was the cage and account shift manager at Crown Perth at the time, having assumed the position in 2007.
The Crown bank account connected to this operation, the Riverbank account, is the central piece in the ongoing Western Australia investigation that aims to determine if the only casino in the state is fit to keep its gambling licence.
Another probe into Crown Resorts (the parent company of Crown Perth) conducted in New South Wales has also linked the Riverbank account to money laundering activities.
Patricia Cahill, the senior counsel aiding the royal commission, has prepared documents that show Mr Campbell helped arrange a wireless transfer on April 2, 2019.
The transfer included three lots of $300,000 and one worth $200,000, for a total amount of $1.1 million. All lots were in banknotes.
Mr Campbell believes that nothing was wrong with the transaction and that the structuring of each payment was likely due to foreign currency transaction limits.
Ms Cahil has expressed her disbelief in all of this, as she doesn’t think that someone could miss these clear red flags. A $1.1 million cash transaction is undoubtedly suspicious, regardless of how it was structured.
Mr Campbell has admitted that it does seem like a red flag now, and he understands why Ms Cahill would think that. While the royal commission questioned him, he repeatedly stated that he didn’t fully remember the transaction.
Mr Campbell’s questioning came after the security manager at Crown Perth, Derek Burling, stated he was concerned to learn that many of the staff members believed the security employees were bending the rules and working around numerous procedures, all in an effort to get the job done.
He was questioned as the royal commission heard that numerous patrons managed to avoid many casino monitoring processes and make large cash deposits at the casino.
It remains to be seen what will happen next. We’ll make sure to inform you whenever something significant occurs.
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