Star Entertainment is playing down concerns over its future after being hit with a whopping fine for breaches of anti-money laundering laws.
The casino giant was whacked with a $260 million penalty by the Federal Court on Wednesday, with a judge slamming Star for putting profit over compliance on a large scale.
The fine was above the $100 million the company had previously said it could afford, but less than the $400 million AUSTRAC had been pushing for.
The saving grace for Star is the ruling that it can pay the penalty in instalments over the next 19 months.
In a note to the ASX on Thursday, Star said it had largely factored in a fine of that amount in its recent financial statements.
The company has confirmed the penalty will trigger a review of its credit facilities, but it will not threaten the ongoing viability of the company.
“The Star does not consider that the payment of the penalty in accordance with the instalments required by the Federal Court will impact the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the company said.
New chairman Soo Kim welcomed the conclusion of the case and vowed to work with authorities.
“Given that the current ownership and management team had nothing to do with the actions that gave rise to the proceedings, we commend the work of AUSTRAC and the Federal Court.
“The Star looks forward to fostering a positive relationship with AUSTRAC and to demonstrating that The Star today has the right leadership, internal culture, and operational processes to eliminate the kind of behaviours that the penalty is meant to dissuade.
“We agree with the public policy objective that Australia is no place for financial crime and that our casinos are at the forefront of the industry in stamping out unwanted criminal activity.
“It is great to get a determination yesterday and add this to the list of challenges The Star, under its new board and leadership team, has navigated.”
