Did exiled billionaire fund Australia’s Labor Party with Star Casino?

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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been trying to get its hands on an exiled businessman out of China, Huang Xiangmo, for dodging his tax obligations. It turned to casinos in the country to try to determine if he had any money in accounts held by the venues and, through an investigation led by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), has uncovered something unusual. An account tied to the figure at Sydney’s The Star casino saw a sizeable withdrawal that preceded a donation of the same amount to the New South Wales Labor Party.

did-exiled-chinese-billionaire-bankroll-australias-labor-party-through-star-casino-minAccording to the Sydney Morning Herald, AU$100,000 (US$68,840) was withdrawn on April 3, 2015. The action was flagged by the casino as “suspicious” and had been conducted by a business manager working for Huang’s Yuhu property development company. Upon cashing out, the individual left in an Audi that was also shown to be registered to Yuhu Investment Holdings.

Then, six days later, the Labor Party received a donation equaling that amount. There has already been talk that Huang presented a bag full of money to Jamie Clements, who was the party’s general secretary at the time. Officials believe that the money was given as part of a scheme designed to bypass regulations in place that prevented property developers from making donations to political groups.

The allegations are given stronger credence by affidavits provided by certain individuals in the Chinese community. These assert that they were tasked with operating as “straw donors” to hide the source of the money and made false sworn statements that the donations came from them during a Chinese Friends of Labor fundraiser a month earlier.

Huang, according to The Star investigations manager Kevin Houlihan, gave the venue $5 million ($3.44 million) to open a junket at the Sydney venue, which an agreement that the junket would start operations on April 3. On that date, one of Huang’s associates, Gary Wong, withdrew the money from an account at the casino, provided to him in $100 notes. The cash delivered to the Labor Party’s head office six days later was also in the same denomination.

Clements asserts that he was never given any money, but that he may have accepted wine from the derelict taxpayer and possible fraudster. However, he has also already admitted to the ICAC that he received $35,000 ($24,000) “in a wine box” to pay legal bills. He states he didn’t tell the Labor Party about the gift.

Australian casinos have come under fire lately for what has been viewed as questionable activity. Crown Resorts has been accused of rigging slot machines and possible links to organized crime. It has also been the target of regulators, concerned about how someone with known ties to a war criminal could have gambled at its facilities. The Star is now finding itself in regulators’ crosshairs and there’s no telling what other skeletons, if any, may be found hiding in the closet once investigations are concluded.