Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

Star casino inquiry told high roller spent $11m on Chinese debit card in one day

The high roller said he had a relationship manager at The Star who spoke Mandarin to him. (AAP: Joel Carrett)

An inquiry has heard that a high roller spent $11 million on a Chinese debit card in one day at Sydney's Star casino.

The inquiry is investigating Star Entertainment's suitability to run its casino at Pyrmont. 

It has previously heard that cards issued by the China UnionPay bank were only allowed to be used for non-gambling expenses, under an agreement with the bank. 

Star employees have already admitted misleading the National Australia Bank (NAB) when it inquired on behalf of China UnionPay for reassurances that cards were not being used for gambling, stating that they were used for "entertainment" or "accommodation services", and omitting gaming expenses.

Today, high roller property developer Phillip Dong Fang Lee told the inquiry he would spend millions in a day at the casino.

"Is it correct that on 6 April 2015 you debited your China UnionPay card for $11 million to purchase chips or pay back a casino debt at The Star casino?" counsel assisting Naomi Sharp SC asked.

"Correct," Mr Lee replied, through a translator. 

The inquiry went through a series of receipts with Mr Lee showing multiple transactions of nearly $1 million. 

"Is it right that on at least one occasion at Star you swiped your China UnionPay card on multiple occasions in very close proximity to each other debiting $900,000 at a time?" Ms Sharp asked. 

"Correct," Mr Lee said. 

Mr Lee denied staying at the casino's hotel for a month in 2015. (AAP: Marianna Massey)

The inquiry heard that Chinese-born Mr Lee is an Australian citizen and has lived in NSW for more than two decades. 

He said he had never stayed at the hotel at The Star Sydney, previously called The Astral, but did say he may have been given accommodation vouchers which he would have passed onto friends. 

Ms Sharp presented a statement from Star for a stay at The Astral for nearly a month in 2015. 

"Did you stay at Astral Tower and residences for 27 days in 2015?" Ms Sharp asked. 

"No I haven't," he said.

"It is possible my friends might have stayed in this business suite, but not myself."

Mr Lee said he was initially told there was no limit on the money he could spend on the China UnionPay cards, and he was never warned about taking out too much, although a limit was later placed on the card. 

He was also presented a statement in English which he had signed, saying his cash chequing limit had changed from $12.3 million to $23.3 million. 

This statement was dated the same day as his $11 million spend. 

"Did you ever have a credit limit from the Star casino of $12.3 million?" Ms Sharp asked.

"No I'm sorry I don't," Mr Lee replied.

"Did you ever ask in April 2015 to increase your credit limit to $23.3 million?" she asked.

"No," he said.

Mr Lee earlier told the inquiry he could neither speak nor read English. 

He said he had a relationship manager at Star who spoke Mandarin to him, who on occasion would accompany him to NAB or Commonwealth Bank to assist him by translating. 

He said a Star staff member had also suggested he open a bank account in Singapore. 

"The explanation to me was they would need an overseas cheque to be placed in their place [to obtain credit] and [I had] a period of time of a month to repay the money," Mr Lee said. 

"It would be a blank cheque and I was asked to sign the blank cheque and hand it [back] to them and they would handle the rest of the procedure.

"Then it would be OK for me to get an amount of around $5 million and with that amount of money I could gamble in the casino and if I lost I could pay back."

The inquiry continues.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.