Austrac, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, and SkyCity Entertainment Group have reached a deal to end civil penalty proceedings, which has been authorised by the Federal Court of Australia.
 Level 1 SkyCity
 A total of AU$67.0m (£35.0m/€41.1m/US$44.7m) was agreed upon by SkyCity and Austrac last month as a civil penalty.  This relates to the fact that its Adelaide land-based casino has a checkered past when it comes to AML and CTF compliance. 

 At a hearing earlier today (7 June), SkyCity and Austrac presented separate proposals for approval.  On this occasion, the court upheld the agreed-upon penalty price and directed SkyCity to compensate Austrac for its $3.0 million in costs.

 The choice was well-received by Peter Soros, acting CEO of Austrac.  According to him, casinos, just like any other company, need to meet their AML duties thoroughly.

 The casino industry will forever be a target for criminals looking to launder their illicit money, according to Soros.  Gambling establishments and casinos are inviting trouble for criminals if their anti-money-laundering (AML) procedures and controls are inadequate.

 When companies, like casinos, don't follow the rules, Austrac is ready to take action, as today's result illustrates.  The Australian population feels the effects of businesses that shirk their responsibilities, which allows criminals easier access to the country.

 "There are victims of money laundering.  Because criminals are trying to clean up the money they made from illicit activities, such drug or people trafficking, which they then use to fund even more criminal ventures, which only make things worse.

 Which SkyCity issues were found to be inadequate?
 The case that led to the penalty's revelation in December 2022.  Austrac concluded that SkyCity Adelaide had shown "serious and systemic non-compliance" with Australian anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism laws.

 Nonetheless, Austrac did not become involved with the issue until a number of years had passed.  The alleged misconduct was brought to SkyCity's attention in June of 2021, following the beginning of an industry-wide compliance effort in September of 2019.

 One major problem is that SkyCity's anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism programs do not comply with the AML/CTF Act.  Additionally, the group was found to have neglected to do sufficient continuing customer due diligence, according to Austrac.

 Austrac also brought attention to the fact that the casino's long-term noncompliance with the Act enabled high-risk clients to launder millions of dollars in a manner that made their origin and ownership very murky.

 Additionally, without proper risk-based controls, SkyCity was discovered to have offered services to high-risk customers through high-risk channels.  According to Austrac, SkyCity knew that some of its clients were under investigation by law enforcement or that there were signs that certain of them posed a higher risk of money laundering, but it yet failed to do the necessary checks on 121 of those customers.

 After this, SkyCity came clean about how its violations left it open to criminal exploitation.  It also acknowledged that it put the Australian people and financial system at danger of being targets of terrorist financing and money laundering.

 Responding to Austrac's concerns
 Following Austrac's notification, SkyCity has taken action to resolve the concerns voiced in these lawsuits.  This cleaning is still going on.

 In order to find ways to strengthen its AML/CTF program at the Adelaide casino and other operations, SkyCity has so far hired an outside expert to do a review.  Because of this, the location underwent some renovations in July 2021.

 Based on this, SkyCity enhanced the Adelaide casino's anti-money-laundering program.  This considers the shortcomings mentioned in the original complaint against the gambling establishment.

 In addition to bolstering its legal and compliance and financial crime teams, SkyCity Adelaide has undergone a slew of governance changes.  The organisation also promised to fortify ties with law enforcement and increase funding for internal anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism efforts.

 Rulebreakers are still being severely punished by Austrac.
 The settlement reached today is the second civil penalty that Austrac has successfully obtained against casinos in Australia.  The Crown's casinos in Melbourne and Perth were fined $450.0 million by the Federal Court last year for violations of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Act.

 The agreement to take enforcement action by Crown signifies the end of a process that started in 2022.  One of the found breaches was an inadequate evaluation of the risks associated with money laundering and the funding of terrorism.

 The two-year payment plan was greenlit by the federal court in July of last year.

 "We will continue to make a strong impression on all Australian casino operators who believe they can evade their AML/CTF responsibilities," Soros, of Austrac, stated.

 New Zealand also plans to penalise SkyCity.
 New Zealand's secretary of the department of internal affairs (DIA) and SkyCity settled their AML/CFT breach dispute last month.

 A subsidiary of SkyCity, SkyCity Casino Management Limited (SCML), was the target of high court proceedings that the DIA announced earlier this year.  A violation of the 2009 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act is at the heart of this matter.

 According to the operator, most of these breaches are related to the past, and some of them have already been reported to the DIA.  The operator further stated that it has implemented several measures to forestall similar problems in the future.

 The court will have the last say on this, but SkyCity consented to a penalty of $4.16 million after settling with the DIA.

 SkyCity lowers annual forecast
 This week, SkyCity lowered its guidance on certain full-year metrics in response to the backdrop of regulatory uncertainty.  Compared to projections, the 2024 fiscal year's underlying group EBITDA and net profit after taxes are going to be lower.

 Within the twelve months ending 30 June, the underlying group EBITDA is anticipated to range from $280 million to $285 million.  It had before predicted $290 million to $310 million, so this is a decrease.  Following previous estimate of $125–135 million, net profit is expected to fall anywhere between $120 and $125 million.

 A difficult economic climate, which is affecting consumer spending, is one of several reasons affecting SkyCity.  The company does, however, point out that overall site traffic is still quite high.

 Another setback for SkyCity's Horizon Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand, has been mentioned.  It also anticipates that Adelaide's casino duty expenditure in Australia may rise in the fiscal year of 2024.

 The group has stated that throughout the 2025 fiscal year, performance will still be affected by a few of these difficulties.  After stepping down as CEO last month, Jason Walbridge will manage SkyCity into the new year.  Michael Ahearne just departed the organisation, and Walbridge is stepping in to fill his shoes.

 Julie Amey's resignation as chief financial officer is one of the other high-level changes.  Also, Andrew McPherson is now working full-time as SkyCity's chief information officer.