The inquiry was established to probe allegations by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes of money laundering, criminal infiltration and wide-scale fraud at the Pyrmont casino. Hearings are ongoing, and already the company’s chief executive, Matt Bekier, has resigned and a class-action lawsuit launched against the business.
NAB, which provided The Star’s UnionPay terminals, had questioned the nature of the transactions in 2019, but the casino assured the bank the transactions were for hotel rooms and other non-gaming expenses, the inquiry heard.
One high-roller patron, billionaire property developer Phillip Dong Fang Lee, told the inquiry he used the UnionPay scam to withdraw $11 million in one day in 2015.
During her testimony, Ms Scopel was asked by counsel assisting the inquiry, Naomi Sharp, SC, if her behaviour towards NAB in response to the bank’s queries about the transactions was “dishonest”, “unethical”, and if statements made by the group treasurer in those emails were “utterly false”.
Ms Scopel replied “Yes” to all three questions. The terms of Ms Scopel’s employment with Woolworths, including any potential severance payment, are not known.
On Friday, the NSW gambling regulator announced it had extended the public inquiry into The Star Entertainment Group by two months so it can probe its suitability to hold its Sydney casino licence in more detail.
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