Crown Resorts was arrogant towards regulatory compliance and didn't properly act on money laundering red flags, an inquiry into the company suitability to run a new $2.2 billion Sydney casino has heard. The Barangaroo premises, slated to open in mid December, is under a massive cloud amid the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority probe. The regulator is reportedly set to meet with Crown on November 18 to discuss whether to push back, or put conditions on, the casino's opening. Lawyers assisting the inquiry have argued Crown is not fit to hold the Barangaroo licence due to its poor culture, lack of risk management procedures and links to dodgy junket operators. In concluding her final submissions on Monday, counsel assisting Naomi Sharp said evidence across the hearings had shown Crown had an 'arrogant indifference' to regulatory compliance. '(There is a) culture of denial and an unwillingness to examine past failings. And ... a culture which has prioritised the pursuit of profit above all else,' she said. Counsel assisting Scott Aspinall said transactions uncovered during the hearings showed Crown was either ignorant or apathetic about the money laundering risks involving two subsidiary companies. 'It's open for you to find that money laundering did occur,' he told inquiry commissioner Patricia Bergin. He said money was moved through companies Southbank and Riverbank from 2014-17 by 'smurfing', a process of splitting up money in smaller deposits to avoid detection. There were also examples cash was deposited anonymously to those companies, he said. ANZ in 2014 raised 'red flags' with Crown about Southbank and Riverbank and eventually shut down their accounts with the bank. Mr Aspinall said Crown failed to properly investigate why, and the problems persisted for years. The lawyer representing Crown, Neil Young, is set to address the allegations in his closing submissions on November 16. Mr Young said CCTV vision aired at the inquiry showing a bag full of cash being unloaded at one of Crown's high-roller rooms in Melbourne was not definitive proof of money laundering. But he did concede it amounted to a 'suspicious matter'. 'We will also explain in our submissions that Crown has taken steps to prevent such events ever recurring,' he said. Many of Crown's cultural problems stem from the 'dubious tone' set by former executive chairman and major shareholder, James Packer, the inquiry has previously heard. Lawyers representing Mr Packer's company Consolidated Press Holdings, which holds a 36.8 per cent stake in Crown, will address the inquiry on Wednesday. Commissioner Bergin, who is expected to produce a final report by February, may recommend the licence agreement for the new casino be terminated, suspended, or have new conditions added. Australian Associated Press

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James Packer has admitted he engaged in 'shameful' and 'disgraceful' conduct over a series of threatening emails he sent to a high-profile businessman in 2015, but blamed his bipolar disorder for his behaviour in the past.

Explosive allegations continue to flow from the Crown Casino inquiry in NSW. Picture: William West/AFPSource:AFP

A senior Crown Resorts executive has conceded a litany of serious failures by the casino operator relating to alleged criminal activities, but insists it wasn’t deliberately turning a blind eye.

Deputy chairman John Horvath, previously a personal physician to the late Kerry Packer and chief medical officer of Australia, made a series of admissions at the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority inquiry on Wednesday.

The authority is determining whether Crown is fit to hold a gaming licence for the $2.4 billion Barangaroo development nearing completion after media allegations the company had facilitated organised crime and money laundering.

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The bombshell reports included footage of a man unloading huge wads of cash from a blue cooler bag at a counter inside a room set aside for Suncity, Macau’s biggest junket operator, at the Southbank casino in Melbourne.

Junket operators identify high-roller gamblers, often known as VIPs, and make arrangements for them to travel to certain casinos, often by offering inducements such as free accommodation and transport.

The casino must report all transactions over $10,000 to financial crime regulator AUSTRAC within 10 days, but counsel assisting Naomi Sharp said “massive transactions” in the Suncity room had not been reported.

The Crown casino at Barangaroo towers over the Sydney skyline. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye GerardSource:News Corp Australia

Ms Sharp asked Professor Horvath, who has been on Crown’s compliance committee, if he had been made aware that $5.6 million was found during an audit of the room in April 2018 and he replied he had not.

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“Why wasn’t Suncity shut down at this time by Crown?” she asked.

“I can’t speculate on the reasons behind it but (it’s) a valid question,” Prof Hovarth replied.

She suggested the large amounts of cash were “red flags for money laundering”, which he agreed with, and that Crown had turned a blind eye to it.

“I don’t accept the turning a blind eye to it,” he responded.

“These are instances of failure by some staff to follow operational procedures that were clearly outlined in our undertakings to AUSTRAC.”

Ms Sharp asked Prof Hovarth if he was aware hundreds of millions of dollars passed through the accounts of Crown holding companies Southbank and Riverbank each year, and that banks including ANZ and Commonwealth Bank had shut some down in 2014 and 2019, respectively, due to concerns about money laundering.

He said he learnt about it through the inquiry.

“Should it have been brought to your attention?” she continued.

“It should have been brought to the compliance committee and risk committee,” Prof Hovarth said.

Chief legal and regulatory compliance officer Joshua Preston knew about the account closures but didn’t pass it on.

“It does concern me,” Prof Hovarth said.

John Horvath says he has confidence in Crown’s CEO but not in its Australian Resorts chief, whose role is being reviewed. Picture: Aaron Francis/The AustralianSource:News Corp Australia

Then chief financial officer and now chief executive Kenneth Barton also knew about them and didn’t tell Prof Hovarth.

“I have a concern that he did not understand the seriousness of the events,” the professor said, but insisted he still had confidence in Mr Barton.

“He erred in his judgment regarding the issues that you outline but other than that I have no reason to lose confidence in him.”

Nobody from Crown looked at the accounts until after Mr Barton gave evidence last month, Ms Sharp said, and again asked if the company had turned a blind eye to money laundering.

“I can’t accept that conjecture,” Prof Hovarth said.

“There was clearly a failure of systems and a failure to appropriately, by some people, do the due diligence, but I reject the concept of turning a blind eye, which would imply an active action.”

Ms Sharp shot back: “What if I put it this way, that Crown Resorts just didn’t care if there had been money laundering in those bank accounts?”

“Again, I reject that. My experience is we do care, we take our obligations very seriously and clearly our processes were not sufficient to deal with those issues at that time,” he replied.

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“That is why were are undertaking the steps that we are doing to remedy that situation.

“I think there is a difference between omission and commission.”

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Crown’s majority shareholder James Packer told the inquiry it was unacceptable staff feared for their safety long before being detained in China in 2016.Source:Supplied

The inquiry heard AUSTRAC alerted Crown in 2017 that Suncity chief Alvin Chau “is both a foreign PEP (politically exposed person) and has a substantial criminal history” and asked the casino for information as to the appropriateness of providing designated services to him.

Prof Hovarth said the request had not been passed on to him “to the best of my knowledge”.

He agreed it appeared to be a serious compliance issue, in light of evidence that had emerged at the inquiry.

Chau is alleged to be a member of the 14K triad gang and has been banned from entering Australia, reportedly last year.

On Tuesday, Prof Hovarth was asked about an email sent to Crown’s chief executive officer of Australian Resorts, Barry Felstead, from a staff member in China in 2013 -- more than three years before Crown employees were arrested for promoting gambling -- saying they were “living in constant fear of getting tapped on the shoulder”.

He said he had no confidence in Mr Felstead and his position was under review.

Crown’s majority shareholder James Packer told the inquiry last week it was unacceptable for the staff of a publicly-listed Australian company to fear for their safety when performing their work.