Outgoing Star Entertainment chairman John O’Neill’s decision to give investors private briefings to share information, following media allegations about money laundering at the company’s Sydney casino last year, raises a “real question” about Star breaching its public company duties, an inquiry has heard.
The Star was “only at the beginning of its journey to reform”, Ms Sharp said, pointing out that it took the public hearings – which Mr O’Neill fought against – for the board to realise the magnitude of the wrongdoing. She singled out The Star’s blanket denials that the KMPG report had been kept secret from AUSTRAC and the board’s decision not to address the other “allegations were far more wide-ranging”.