Renowned Australian casino, Crown Resorts is facing yet another scandalous week in the news after it was revealed that they allowed an alleged arms dealer to gamble at the casino. The United Nations had sanctioned Indonesian tycoon who had links to arms trading with former Liberian president and warlord, Charles Taylor. It is reported that Joseph Wong Kiia Tai gambled away funds in excess of $6 million between a period from 2004-2015.
According to Australia’s ABC News, it is alleged that the businessman frequented both Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth, where he was admitted to the VIP high roller rooms. The tycoon earned his money as head of Oriental Timber Company. Tai had the rights to use around one-quarter of Liberia’s rainforests reservoir.
In numbers, that accounted for 1/6 of the entire continent of Africa’s timber. This reflects how wealthy the Tai is. And despite this wealth, he evaded paying taxes and brokered a deal with then-president Taylor to fund his war-related proclivities.
Dubious Screening Procedure May Spell Trouble for Crown Resorts
Crown Resorts has received a lot of backlash for planning to provide expedited visas for VIP players to enter the country. These criminal offences were done to bypass government background checks. The casino has also been accused of dubious vetting procedures on its gamblers, a claim that Australia’s Department of Home Affairs won’t take lightly. The home affairs department confessed that it was aware of the Tai’s visits to the Crown. In a statement, the department said it “thoroughly investigates instances of misuse of the visa system and takes action to mitigate against further occurrences, where appropriate.”
More Scandals for Crown Casino
With all of the media scrutiny on the money-laundering allegations, reported tampering of slots machine, and most recently the permitting of war criminals into the casino’s premises, Crown Resorts’ brand is in tatters. The media storm prompted James Packer to step down as CEO of the company citing mental health reasons. If this continues, the negative public perception of Crown will surely result in losses to profits. Players do not need a visa to gain entry to the best US digital casinos that we recommend. Visit our trusted casino websites and win big today.
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Paige is an avid Poker and Roulette fan who loves to hedge her bets. As a younger team member, she’s more likely to try new games and try to find the best way to win. Part of what drives Paige is the need to understand casino games and how they work. Then, she likes to break things down and ensure that anyone can understand them. She considers herself an intermediate player, and hopes to play like a pro soon.
