📅 28 October 2026 • AUSTRAC
Federal Court orders The Star to pay A$260 million for serious AML/CTF breaches
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered casino operator The Star Entertainment Group to pay a civil penalty of A$260 million for serious breaches of Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. Justice Cameron Moore found the company failed to maintain a compliant AML/CTF program and failed to monitor customers to identify, mitigate and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
Four years from filing to judgment
AUSTRAC commenced the proceedings on 30 November 2022 after an investigation identified widespread weaknesses in the group's controls. The Court found serious failures in managing high-risk customers, including failures to verify customer information and source of funds, conduct appropriate due diligence and monitor activity. More than 1,200 customers gambled through channels carrying elevated ML/TF risk, and the Court found the non-compliance undermined the ability of AUSTRAC and law enforcement to trace money to its source.
A figure between two positions
AUSTRAC initially sought A$400 million, while The Star argued any penalty above A$100 million would threaten its survival. Justice Moore settled between the two, noting the company had already paid A$200 million under earlier state casino inquiries and operated under licence suspension and external supervision. The Star accepted the penalty on 29 October, an amount equal to about US$183.6 million according to Reuters, payable in 4 instalments over 19 months.
What compliance teams should take away
AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said the Court found the company did not simply fail to complete the right checks and put profit over compliance on a large scale. For compliance functions the case is a reminder that a documented program is not the endpoint. Regulators and courts tested the controls that matter in practice — risk-based customer due diligence, source-of-funds verification, ongoing monitoring and escalation of concerns — and the absence of working versions of these drove both the findings and the size of the penalty.
IMPACT
• Gaming and other cash-intensive sectors should expect tighter scrutiny of high-risk customer channels, source-of-funds checks and transaction monitoring.
• Penalty size was calibrated against prior regulatory outcomes and the operator's financial capacity, a pattern other boards should factor into provisions and liquidity planning.
• The decision closes AUSTRAC's 2022 action, with the first instalment due within 28 days of the judgment and the remainder across 19 months.
Sources: austrac.gov.au, reuters.com, sbs.com.au, aapnews.aap.com.au, afr.com
Sources:
- austrac.gov.au
- reuters.com
- sbs.com.au
- aapnews.aap.com.au
- afr.com
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