IPNews-Monrovia: A businessman banned from travel by the United Nations because he provided military and financial support to Liberian war criminal Charles Taylor, gambled millions in Crown Casino high-roller rooms despite international sanctions against him.
Key points:
- The UN sanction listing states Mr Wong was an arms dealer and supported the former president’s regime
- Despite being blacklisted, he was able to enter Australia and gamble at Crown’s Melbourne and Perth casinos
- He lost more than $6 million in the high-roller rooms for junket operators
Joseph Wong Kiia Tai was placed on the UN sanctions list โ which froze his assets and banned him from travelling โ in 2004 for assisting Taylor, who was sentenced to 50 years for was atrocities during the Sierra Leone civil war.
The UN sanction listing states Mr Wong was an arms dealer in contravention of a UN resolution and that he “supported former president Taylor’s regime in an effort to destabilize Sierra Leone and gain illicit access to diamonds.”
Despite the blacklisting, Mr Wong was able to enter Australia and gamble in Crown’s Melbourne and Perth casinos, records seen by the ABC showed.
During the time the sanctions were in place, Mr Wong visited Australia several times, losing more than $6 million at Crown’s casinos.
The revelations will raise further questions about the calibre of gamblers at Crown’s casinos and what checks it does on big-spending punters.
Crown Casino has been in the spotlight over money laundering allegations and criminal links to its lucrative junket operations.
Junket operators recruit cashed-up foreign punters to visit Crown, often arriving in private jets and they gamble in special private rooms at the casino. Mr Wong is understood to have travelled as a junket guest.The sanctions against him were lifted in 2015.
Sanctions flouted
The United Nations sanctions were endorsed by the Australian Government.
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed it was aware of the case and said “it thoroughly investigates instances of misuse of the visa system and takes action to mitigate against further occurrences, where appropriate”.
A Crown spokesman said it took all of its obligations “very seriously and has no interest in being used by criminal elements”.
“In support of this, Crown works closely with Australia’s law enforcement and regulatory agencies on a range of matters, and assists in providing information for ongoing and new investigations,” the spokesman said.
“Crown is bound by a number of non-disclosure requirements including those imposed under legislation and by law enforcement agencies.”
The news came just days after the ABC revealed leaked CCTV footage showing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, carried causally in supermarket bags,ย being exchanged in private high-roller rooms for international junket operators.
Whistleblowers accused Crown of not properly reporting transactions over $10,000 to Australia’s anti-money laundering authority, AUSTRAC, warning of the high risk of criminal money laundering.
The whistleblowers also said the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) have not taken enough action against Crown.
The Victorian Government has defended the VCGLR but orderedย a probe into allegations made in the Nine papers in July.
Victorian Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz on Wednesday was unable to name one incident where the commission took action against Crown.
Last year it did fine the casino $300,000 for removing betting options on a handful of its poker machines.
Asked about people on UN blacklists gambling at Crown on Wednesday, Ms Kairouz did not directly answer.
“I’ve asked the commission to go and re-examine all the allegations that have been put forward,” she said.
“If anyone has any further information that they can assist with these investigations, the re-examination of these allegations, they’re more than welcome to do so.”
