Money laundering in Australian casinos
| Date | 22 December 2022 |
| Pages | 99-109 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-09-2022-0136 |
| Published date | 22 December 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial compliance/regulation,Financial crime |
| Author | John Langdale |
Money laundering in
Australian casinos
John Langdale
Department of Security Studies and Criminology, Faculty of Arts,
Macquarie University, North Ryde, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to examinethe role of Australian casinos in facilitating money launderingand
Chinesecapital flight.
Design/methodology/approach –The reports and transcripts of evidence fromgovernment inquiries
into moneylaundering in Australian casinos are integratedwith analyses of Asian transnational crime.
Findings –Money laundering in Australian casinosis linked to transnational crime and Chinese capital
flight. A central finding is thatjunket operators play a key role in facilitating moneylaundering. The casinos
are particularly exposed to criminalinfluences in the Chinese very important person gambling market, since
they have used junketoperators and underground banks, many of whom are closelylinked to major Chinese
criminalgroups from Hong Kong and Macau.
Research limitations/implications –Very little information is available on money laundering in
Australian casinos and this researchhas relied on the government inquiries that have been conducted over
the past two years on the subject.
Practical implications –The author’s focuson money laundering in Australian casinos in the context of
Asia-Pacific transnationalcrime is important for Federal and stategovernment regulators grappling with the
rapidly changing moneylaundering issues. The government inquiries recognised thatthe money laundering
was related to transnational crime,but did not have the time and resources to explore the topic. The paper
provides state government casino regulators and financial crime regulators with a broader international
perspectiveto anticipate future money laundering and crime pressuresfacing Australia’s casinos.
Social implications –Money launderingin Australian casinos has had devastatingsocial implications on
the community. My research helps to focus attention on the problems of transnational crime and money
laundering.
Originality/value –Little research has examined thelinkages between casinos and transnational crime.
This study hasfound that Australian casinos were used to launderthe proceeds of illegal drug trafficking and
to facilitate Chinese capital flight. While casinos have been forced by damming government inquiries to
tighten anti-money launderingcontrols, it is likely that there will be pressure to relax these controlsin the
future becauseof competitive pressure from other casinosin the Asia-Pacific region.
Keywords Casinos, Australia, Money laundering, Transnational crime, China, Illegal drugs,
Capital flight, Chinese triad groups
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The number of casinos in the Asia-Pacific region has risen rapidly, partly in response to
demand from Chinese gamblers. At the same time, transnational crime has grown in the
© John Langdale. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and
create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to
full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at
http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Money
laundering in
Australian
casinos
99
Journalof Money Laundering
Control
Vol.26 No. 7, 2023
pp. 99-109
EmeraldPublishing Limited
1368-5201
DOI 10.1108/JMLC-09-2022-0136
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1368-5201.htm
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