Australia’s Victoria state said on Monday it would hold a royal commission inquiry into casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd and its fitness to hold a gambling licence, extending the fallout since media accused it of ties to money laundering.

A week and a half since another state regulator found Crown unfit for a gambling licence for a just-opened casino in Sydney, the Victorian government said it would hold its own probe. A royal commission is Australia’s most powerful type of public inquiry and has the power to compel witnesses.

“Establishing a royal commission will ensure the most appropriate access to information regarding Crown Melbourne’s suitability to hold the casino licence given the commission’s powers to compel witnesses and documentation,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement.

A Crown spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. Crown separately said on Monday that director Harold Mitchell, an advertising industry veteran, had quit its board, following a host of other top executives including its CEO to leave since the Sydney report.

By Byron Kaye, Reuters, 22 February 2021

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