Australian Crown Resorts employees to face China court
Crown Resorts’ employees, including four Australians, will face a Chinese court today on the charges of illegal promotion of gambling on the Chinese mainland.
It is understood the Australians, including Crown’s vice-president of VIP Operations Jason O’Connor, Jerry Xuan, Jenny Pan Dan, and one unknown person believed to have worked for a company working with Crown’s strategy, could face sentences of up to three years as the promotion of gambling is seen as a less serious crime.
The case will be heard in a closed courtroom trial at Shanghai’s Baoshan District Court.
Australian media will not have access to the court room. The court will provide updates through its official Weibo social media account.
The accused are expected to plead guilty.
China’s nationwide sting that led to the arrests effectively ended Crown’s bid for a slice of China’s lucrative casino market in Macau.
Since the arrests, Crown has sold more than half its stake in Macau casino operator Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd.
It has also offloaded its final stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment for $987 million.
by Leon Gettler, June 26th 2017
