Consular Officials of Australia and the Crown Resorts, Australia’s main casino operator, are under investigation for assisting Chinese high rollers to launder money into Australia from China.
The government of Australia and Crown Resorts had an agreement between 2003 to 2016 to expedite short term visas for gamblers. As of yet it’s still uncertain why the agreement has ended, to my suspicions it must be due to the fact parties on both sides knew that sooner or later they would get caught.
James Packer, business tycoon in Australia was the owner of Crown Resorts. In recent years he has taken a step back and has had more of a passive approach in the interests of his business as he has sold yet another percent of his share and now owns only 26%.
Chinese organized crime-gangs took the most advantage of the situation, many of their members were granted a visa to visit Australia in a short time to bring money into the country and clear it through the Crown. There are many questions and concerns in regards to this agreement and how the government managed risk is still unknown.
In 2016, a cousin of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ming Chai, was onboard a private jet that was searched by Australian agents on suspicion that the aircraft was involved in money laundering. Ming Chai holds an Australian passport and is a former police official who was a valued client of Crown. He was a VVIP.