United States
United Kingdom
Summary
- Criminals launder over $700 million via pokie machines across Australia
- New South Wales used as a main hub for money launderers
- New South Wales under pressure to launch investigation
The Australian public is just getting over the numerous breaches that Crown Resorts has deliberately carried out over the years.
Australians are now learning that more underhand work has been taking place in their licensed gambling industry.
Two prominent Australian newspapers have launched an investigation which showed that a crime syndicate has been consistently laundering money through pokie machines throughout Australia and were using New South Wales (NSW) as a main hub to wash their dirty money.
The Sydney Morning Herald claims that criminal syndicates have been using pokie machines for years to launder money while The Age claims that money laundering activities using pokie machines have increased significantly during the lockdown. Pokies is just another name that Aussies use to refer to slot machines.
60 Minutes Australia
In Australia, pokies are not only found at casinos but are also found at pubs and bars that have a license to have pokie machines. They tend to be the favorite pastime for Aussie punters who like to test their luck on these pokie machines. It now appears that money launderers also fancy these pokie machines as they find it easy to wash their dirty money.
NSW Under Pressure To Launch Investigation
The crime syndicate has used pokie machines throughout the country to launder money. However, they have shown a preference for NSW as the report shows that over 95,000 pokie machines were used in NSW to launder money. The investigation brought up CCTV footage to back their claims and pressure is now on the NSW government and the NSW Gaming and Liquor Department which is the gaming regulator in the state.
Dominic Perrottet, NSW Premier said that they allegations made by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald were very serious. Perrottet said that he and his team were currently seeking advice on what the next step should be to address and investigation these money laundering allegations.
There were also allegations made against Perrottet and his government since the ruling government does benefit from gaming revenue. However, Perrottet rejected allegations claiming that his government was compromised. Perrottet is under pressure to establish an independent special commission to launch a probe into these money laundering allegations.
