Agreements between Sydney's Star casino and a junket operator that brought foreign high-rollers in to gamble, forbade the group from handling cash in their private room known as ''Salon 95".
But CCTV shown to Star's group manager of due diligence and intelligence, Angus Buchanan, at a NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority inquiry on Wednesday showed "a very similar activity" taking place.
The inquiry is examining whether the casino should keep its licence.
Mr Buchanan began working for Star in May 2019, having previously worked in a number of investigatory roles including in police and law enforcement in Scotland and Australia.
Prior to Star he worked for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and while there, finalised an April 2018 report into junket operator Suncity, which ran junkets at Star and its rival Crown Resorts, among others around the world.
Before the release of the HKJC report, Mr Buchanan met with Australian law enforcement organisations in May 2017 and was told Suncity junket operators were allegedly laundering as much as $2 million a day in Australia.
Later working for Star, Mr Buchanan told the hearing he referred the HKJC report to other employees and shared it as an example of what a mature due diligence report aiming to combat money laundering would look like.
He agreed a "secondary reason" for sharing the report was that Suncity was one of The Star's largest junket operators.
In fact, while he was finalising that April 2018 report, surveillance cameras inside Salon 95 were capturing footage that appeared to show the junket operator violating its agreement with The Star.
Mr Buchanan was asked about a number of agreements between Star and Suncity setting out the terms of the junket operation at the hearing on Wednesday, which predated his time with the company.
The agreements spelled out that Star was to retain control of the salon and the conduct of gaming within it.
Mr Buchanan said he was of the understanding that Suncity was not to operate any "cage" (where money and chips are mutually exchanged).
But an enclosed room and a service desk built at the request of Suncity was "very similar in style" to cages in the casino, Mr Buchanan told the hearing.
Emails from Star general counsel Oliver White, due to appear before the inquiry next week, made clear Suncity was not supposed to operate a cage.
But he said so long as the service desk in Salon 95 did not handle any cash transactions it did not pose a risk to the company's compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Anyone who became aware of cash transactions being conducted in the salon should notify him and mark the email private and confidential, he said.
He was not shown CCTV footage from the inside of Salon 95 while compiling his chronology of Suncity's relationship with Star after he joined.
Footage from April 2018 showing the inside of the junket room was then played to Mr Buchanan during the hearing.
It was suggested to him that it appeared as though Suncity was in fact operating a cage in Salon 95 with large amounts of cash changing hands.
"It appears to be a very similar activity, yes," Mr Buchanan said.
He began working for the company a year after a report by KPMG raised concerns over compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, eventually sparking the ongoing inquiry.
Suncity no longer operates junkets.
Star has said it has an unwavering focus on preventing criminal activity at its casinos, which also include The Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane.
