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A Hong Kong court judgment has opened a window into the sums of money flowing through Perth’s Crown Casino at the height of a junket culture which eventually saw the resort group embroiled in a royal commission.
The civil suit centred around debts incurred by Chinese-born Singaporean businessman Huang Youlong, who blew through $60 million in a matter of days during a junket to Crown Perth in February 2015.
Huang was being sued by Michelle Chua – the former vice president of marketing with Crown – who was seeking to recoup interest on the money lost during Huang’s visit, under a verbal agreement she claimed she struck with the wealthy businessman.
The judgment, handed down by the Hong Kong High Court last week, revealed Huang, the former husband of famous Chinese actress and singer Zhao Wei, flew to Perth on a junket arranged by Chua, but the casino was unwilling to grant him credit based on “substantial debts” he owed to other casinos and junket operators.
The company suggested Chua seek out an intermediary to take up Huang’s credit risk, which she did, via the Sun City Gaming Promotion junket operator.
Chua had a family connection to Sun City, the judgment revealed, with her mother and cousin being investors in the venture, whose money could be used to “guarantee” gaming chips to customers.
In return, for each customer brought in, they would be entitled to a share of the “junket commission” from the casino.
Chua argued that she verbally agreed with Huang that Sun City would provide him with gaming chips worth $40 million, and he would repay within three months at the exchange rate of $1 to HK$6.30, with an annual interest rate of 24 per cent if he failed to make full repayment by that date.
“On 25 February 2015, [Huang] flew to Perth in order to gamble at the Casino using the gaming chips of AUD 40 million procured and/or arranged by [Chua] pursuant to the 1st Credit Agreement,” the judgment stated.
“It transpired that [Huang] soon lost all these gaming chips at the Casino within 2 days.”
Huang then sought a further line of credit in the hopes that he could recover his losses, with Chua and the Sun City investors agreeing to provide him with another $20 million in gaming chips – this time, to be repaid within one month, with the same interest rate penalty for overdue payments.
“Again, [Huang] lost all these gaming chips at the Casino,” the judgment read.
The judgment documented the fallout from Huang’s Perth trip as he was chased for repayments, before eventually reimbursing Sun City to the tune of HK$273,017,000 over the course of three years from February 2016 to November 2019, after the company’s owner intervened.
Chua argued the verbal agreements for the $40 million and $20 million extension were legally binding contracts between herself and Huang, and that she was owed interest on his outstanding debts, which Huang disagreed with.
Chua’s case was ultimately dismissed, and she was ordered to pay Huang’s costs, with Deputy High Court Judge Alan Kwong finding Huang’s debt arrangement – including the question of interest – lay with Sun City.
The issue of junkets was explored in detail in the Perth Casino Royal Commission’s final report when it was handed down in 2022.
The report noted casino operators would compete with one another to “secure the patronage of individuals willing to place very large bets”, with the number of high-end integrated resorts around the world exploding between 2005 and 2015.
However, a series of royal commissions across the country – triggered by reporting in Nine Newspapers – found Crown’s casinos had been used by crime syndicates to launder money. This masthead is not suggesting any illegality or associated wrongdoing occurred in this case.
The final regulatory leash imposed on Crown Perth following the Perth Casino Royal Commission’s report was removed last year.
The casino, now owned by private investment firm Blackstone, has since introduced a raft of measures to combat money laundering and problem gambling, as well as other issues that had plagued the national group.
