The Blackstone Group reportedly injected nearly AU$500 million ($337 million) into Crown Resorts in 2023 following its significant penalties for breaking anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) legislation.
According to sources cited by the Australian Financial Review, the funding was given after the AU$450 million ($300 million) fine imposed by Australia’s financial watchdog AUSTRAC on Crown.
Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Crown Resorts in 2022 for AU$8.9 billion ($6 billion).
This goes in line with statements given by Crown Resorts CEO Ciarán Carruthers to AGB in May of this year, indicating that “I knew the funding was going to be made available from Blackstone and we spent over AU$200 million since that acquisition in making sure that the work was there and the resources were there”.
Carruthers left his role as Chief Operating Officer in Wynn Macau in September of 2022 to helm Crown Resorts through its transition process, one of numerous top executives hired on after Blackstone’s acquisition. Carruthers is departing the role of CEO but no permanent replacement has yet been named by Crown.
According to AFR sources, the funds injected were to maintain operations and continue remediation efforts, even as costs continued to rise and VIP customers were fewer and more frugal.
Crown, Australia’s largest casino operator, also recently announced that it was contemplating the sale of its prestigious Capital Golf Club as part of efforts to stabilize its finances and in July sold its 20 percent stake in Japanese restaurant and hotel chain Nobu in a $180 million deal.
Further disposal of non-essential assets could be in the works, as the impact of carded play, gambling limits and increased oversight of customer due diligence in Australia all come into play.
