Former Star Entertainment VP Ran Away with Almost $10M of Stolen Money

The inquiry of Star Entertainment’s controversial dealings with fraudulent Chinese junket operators continues with new reveals. According to the latest information, Simon Kim, Star Entertainment’s senior VP of international market stole $9.7 million (in US dollars) in 2020.

Simon Kim Stole Almost $10M

The happening dates to two years ago but was never reported to the press. According to the reveal, junketer Kuan Koi had accused Kim of using a false transfer to put the funds in his personal bank account instead of sending them to Koi as he was supposed to do. Soon after, Kim disappeared.

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, a local newspaper, Matt Bekier, the ex-chief executive of Star Entertainment, spoke on the situation. His claim is that he heard of this theft only after Kim went incognito. According to Bekier, Star Entertainment had to settle with Koi without Kim.  

This reinforced the lawyers’ belief that Bekier’s VIP team was “out of control.” As it turns out, many of the company’s leadership members took part in one fraud or another. Bekier did not agree with this notion and continued to insist that the situation was under control with a few bumps along the way.

The Saga around Star Entertainment Continues

According to allegations, Star Entertainment is guilty of disobeying money laundering regulations and allowing rich bettors to engage in money laundering and other forms of organized crime. Star was accused of having deep ties with Chinese junket groups such as Suncity. The Australian operator allegedly allowed dangerous people such as Huang Xiangmo to deposit millions of dollars which are believed to have been used for briberies.

Star Entertainment had deep ties with Suncity, according to the findings from the inquiry. The Australian business was found guilty of allowing the Chinese junket to illegally operate Salon 95 – a VIP room that remained hidden from regulators. This finding refuted Bekier’s earlier claims that Star Entertainment had ceased its dealings with Suncity.

 Star Entertainment has been in damage control mode since the beginning of the inquiry. In late March, Bekier resigned from his position as the company’s CEO, saying that this is his way of taking responsibility. However, he continued to deny the truthfulness of some of the findings for a while.

NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority later questioned Skye Arnott, Star’s chief financial crime officer. Arnott denied most of the claims and said that Star Entertainment “was trying to mitigate the risks of Suncity and other junkets in other ways.” Investigators remain suspicious of her words.