Ladbrokes owner sued over anti-money laundering | Market wire

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Australia’s financial crimes watchdog has launched legal motion in opposition to Ladbrokes proprietor Entain over “serious and systemic non-compliance” with anti-money laundering guidelines.

The Australian Transaction Experiences and Evaluation Centre (Austrac) stated on Monday that the FTSE 100 group did not determine and assess anti-money laundering dangers. It’s the first time the regulator has introduced civil penalty proceedings in opposition to an online betting company, it added.

Austrac stated the company, which operates as Neds and Ladbrokes in Australia, created dangers that people unknown to the company might entry and use its betting platform, together with by way of third-party suppliers.

Entain didn’t have acceptable controls to substantiate the identification of prospects making these deposits and the source of this money, the regulator alleged, following a probe launched in 2022. Shares in Entain had been down 3 per cent in early trading in London.

Austrac added that the betting company did not conduct acceptable checks on 17 high-risk prospects and didn’t deal with the risk that its websites might be exploited to spend the proceeds of crime in these circumstances. It alleged that Entain “deliberately obscured the identity of some high risk customers, on its own systems, through the use of pseudonyms to ‘protect their privacy’.”

Entain stated it “co-operated fully” with Austrac all through its investigation and warned that the end result of the legal motion would possibly lead to a penalty that “could be potentially material.”

“We note the allegations made, which we take extremely seriously,” stated Entain chief govt Gavin Isaacs, who assumed the position in September.

The Federal Court docket of Australia will decide whether or not Entain contravened legal guidelines associated to money laundering and risk and what penalties ought to be imposed.

The civil continuing is the latest blow for Entain, which final yr agreed to pay £615mn as recompense for failing to forestall bribery at its former Turkish subsidiary as half of a deferred prosecution settlement, following a probe by HM Income & Customs. That resulted in an £879mn loss final yr.

It was additionally ordered to pay £17mn in 2022 for anti-money laundering failures within the UK as half of the Playing Fee’s largest-ever enforcement motion.

Austrac has cracked down on Australia’s playing sector and lax controls in relation to money laundering, with a lot of the eye targeted on the once-thriving on line casino sector.

Crown Resorts, which was bought to Blackstone, paid a A$450mn (US$290mn) wonderful for breaching anti-money laundering legal guidelines, whereas a separate case in opposition to Star Leisure is ongoing. A 3rd on line casino group, SkyCity, has additionally paid a A$63mn penalty over related points.