ASIC slaps $60k penalty on former Star Casino CFO

On Monday, two former executives of Star Entertainment Group (Star) were penalised by the federal court after admitting to breaches of their duties in proceedings brought by ASIC.

The two disqualified executives included former chief financial officer Harry Theodore, and former chief casino officer Gregory Hawkins.

According to ASIC, the proceedings brought to Theodore and Hawkins by the corporate regulator also targeted nine other former Star officers and directors.

The proceedings were first commenced by ASIC on 12 December 2022 for civil penalty proceedings in the federal court.

Theodore was found to have breached section 180 (1) of the Corporations Act by having failed to prevent Star from sending correspondence to National Australia Bank on 7 November 2019.

It was found the correspondence contained inaccurate, incomplete and misleading representations about the use of China Union Pay cards for gambling purposes at NAB terminals located within Star’s casino.

Theodore was ordered to pay a $60,000 penalty for his crimes and was disqualified from managing corporations for nine months.

Within the court proceedings, it was also found that Hawkins in his role as chief casino officer had breached his duties under section 180(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 in 2018 and 2019 by:

Approving an agreement between Star and the gambling junket Suncity in 2018 which provided Suncity exclusive access to a private ‘Salon 95’ gaming room. It was found Hawkins was aware that the conduct of Suncity’s representatives exposed Star to the risk that it would breach the law or become unsuitable to hold a casino license, and for failing to report the information he knew about Suncity to the board.

· Hawkins was also found to have breached the Corporations Act by failing to inform the board in 2019 of further information, including the conduct of players in Salon 95 and the information about Suncity and its associates published in the media, and the risks Star was exposed to arising from its business relationship.

· Finally, Hawkins failed to recommend to the board that Star review or terminate its relationship with Suncity and its associates.

For his breaches, Hawkins was ordered to pay a penalty of $180,000 and disqualified from managing corporations for 18 months.

ASIC noted the trial of its proceedings would continue in relation to the remaining nine former Star directors and officers, with the case against the defendants having been closed and the trial adjourned until 5 March 2025.