Crown staff formally arrested in China

The three Australian employees of Crown Resorts, detained in China for the past month, have been formally arrested and face the prospect of spending at least the next six months in custody.

2016-11-22

China

Reading time 2:14 min

The three Australian employees of Crown Resorts, detained in China for the past month, have been formally arrested and face the prospect of spending at least the next six months in custody.

A fourth Australian, who does not work directly for the casino operator, is also understood to have had his arrest formalized along with 13 other China-based employees of Crown.

The move from detention to formal arrest ends the so called "golden period" when an early release could be negotiated with Chinese authorities.

In formally arresting the Crown staff and the other person, who is believed to work for a junket operator, authorities did not provide any more details on what charges they will eventually face.

"They are not obliged to give any more information at this stage," said one person involved in the case, who asked not to be named.

“
“
The Crown staff were detained for gambling related crimes after a series of overnight raids in at least four cities across China on October 13th and 14th

”

Having been formally arrested they will now be held in custody for at least six months while police finalise their case.

Only when it is handed to court prosecutors will the Crown staff be charged and details of their exact crimes revealed.

The most senior Australian in custody is Jason O'Connor, the head of Crown's international VIP program, who was visiting Shanghai when the raids took place. Two of the other Australians being held are Jerry Xuan, the Beijing-based director of international marketing for Crown and Pan Dan, who goes by the English name Jenny. The name of the fourth Australian has not been made public.

One local employee of Crown, Jenny Jiang, who worked in administration in Shanghai, was released on bail on November 10, to the surprise of her family and lawyers.

Ms Jiang's American husband, Jeff Sikkema, has not responded to calls or messages since her release.

“
“
The Crown arrests are believed to be part of Operation Chain Break, which is being managed by China's powerful Public Security Bureau

”

It is aimed at stopping the flow of money and connections between high-stakes gamblers on the mainland and casinos, not just in Macau, but also in neighbouring countries.

"Some foreign countries see our nation as an enormous market," said Hua Jingfeng, deputy bureau chief of the PSB when the operation was launched in early 2015.

"A fair number of neighbouring countries have casinos, and they have set up offices in China to attract and drum up interest from Chinese citizens to go abroad and gamble. This will also be an area that we will crack down on."

The initial targets were two South Korean gaming companies with 13 of their nationals detained last June.

The promotion of gambling activities on the mainland and the organisation of trips involving ten or more people to foreign casinos for the purpose of gambling is illegal. The marketing of the non-gaming aspects of casino resorts is allowed but is a grey area.

Crown has faced heavy criticism for not heeding repeated warnings that its activities on the mainland were coming under greater scrutiny by Chinese authorities.

Along with warnings about providing credit and facilitating illegal money flows, the casinos were warned about taking government officials, their spouses, children and friends on paid tours or golfing holidays.