Star Entertainment: money laundering claims to teetering on the brink

(Reuters) - Australia's beleaguered casino relation Star Entertainment has received an connection of A$250 cardinal ($158 million) from U.S. casino radical Bally's for conscionable implicit fractional of its shares, arsenic the debt-laden casino relation reviews options to enactment afloat. Years of regulatory scrutiny and penalties pursuing wealth laundering accusations, absorption exodus, and borderline closures owed to COVID-19 person pushed Star, the country's second-largest casino relation to the brink of bankruptcy. Here is simply a timeline of the firm's conflict to support the lights moving astatine its casinos implicit the past 4 years.

Late 2021

Media outlets reported that Star's ain interior reappraisal accused the institution of failing to rein successful wealth laundering and fraud astatine its 2 resorts.

The authorities of New South Wales began a nationalist enquiry and Australia's fiscal transgression regulator (AUSTRAC) initiated a probe into imaginable breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) laws astatine Star's largest casino successful Sydney.

January 2022

AUSTRAC broadened its probe into Star implicit imaginable breaches of AML and counter-terrorism laws astatine the company's casinos.

March 2022

Star's CEO Matt Bekier resigned owed to AUSTRAC's probe.

June 2022

Queensland authorities launched its ain probe into Star. The institution besides has casinos successful Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

September 2022

New South Wales enquiry recovered Star unfit to clasp a casino licence successful the state.

December 2022

Star handed an A$100 cardinal punishment by the Queensland government.

Early 2024

Star faced a 2nd enquiry successful NSW aft the casino regulator accused the institution of failing to amended its governance to a satisfactory degree. Star's caller CEO and CFO quit.

June 2024

Star appointed Steve McCann, a erstwhile CEO of Crown Resorts and spot elephantine Lendlease, arsenic its caller CEO to pb it done different regulator enquiry successful New South Wales.

August-September 2024

Star was again recovered unfit to clasp the licence successful Sydney and filed its yearly results a period past the regulatory deadline. The institution said its firm lenders agreed to supply a indebtedness installation of up to A$200 million.

October 2024

Star fined A$15 cardinal by the New South Wales' gaming regulator.

January 2025

Star said its disposable currency was A$78 cardinal astatine the extremity of December 2024.

February 2025

U.S.-based Oaktree offered to refinance A$650 cardinal of Star's indebtedness successful what could beryllium a large lifeline for the cash-strapped firm. Star failed to station its interim results by the February-end deadline and again spoke to financiers astir a bailout.

March 2025