Australia’s corporate oversight agency announced Thursday that a federal court has determined two former top-level Star Entertainment officials violated their corporate responsibilities in managing money laundering and criminal activity risks.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) reported that the court ruled against former CEO and Managing Director Matthias Bekier and former Chief Legal & Risk Officer Paula Martin for breaking the law. However, the court rejected ASIC’s claims against seven former board members who served in non-executive roles.
According to ASIC, the court cleared Bekier of wrongdoing regarding his approval to increase Star’s credit limits with two gambling junket operators, including Suncity, and his oversight of the company’s business relationship with Sixin Qin.
The regulator stated that Martin failed to properly inform the board about potential risks from Star’s agreement with Suncity and participated in providing false information to the casino company’s banking partner, National Australia Bank, concerning customer use of CUP cards.
ASIC announced plans to ask the court to impose monetary fines on both former executives and to ban them from corporate management positions for a designated time period.
The company’s stock price dropped 4.2% to close at A$0.115, marking the lowest closing value since February 17.
