The pace of AUSTRAC's money laundering case against Crown casinos has been slammed as taking longer than diplomats took to carve up Europe after the downfall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
In a Federal Court hearing on Monday, Justice Michael Lee questioned if the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre was serious about proceeding swiftly in its case against Crown, alleging the casino's programs breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
The judge noted that although the regulator launched its lawsuit against Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth in March last year, nothing much had happened in the case with the parties stuck in negotiations about agreed facts and admissions.
"The Congress of Vienna took nine months to talk about the future of Europe You've had 12 months to talk about admissions," Justice Lee told AUSTRAC's barrister Michael Hodge KC.
The congress was held during a series of diplomatic meetings in 1814 and 1815 to discuss the new layout of Europe after Napoleon's defeat and surrender.
"What's happening? Why has there been such an extraordinary delay for no apparent progress?" the judge asked.
Mr Hodge acknowledged that Crown had yet to make any formal admissions despite the lengthy talks but said AUSTRAC was "very serious" about running the lawsuit against the casino giant.
Crown's barrister Kane Loxley said that while there had been "sticking points" in the talks, his client was "very likely" to admit breaches regarding its programs.
"It is very likely that Crown will be admitting non-compliance with those programs and the AML/CTF rules," he said.
AUSTRAC claims the casino's failure to meet its obligations made its systems more vulnerable to being exploited to criminal exploitation.
Any disagreements would likely be around how the laws in this area were regarded and interpreted, the court heard.
In a statement to AAP after the hearing, a Crown Resorts spokesperson said the firm was working with the regulator regarding the court case and also to improve its own business practices.
"We have been engaging constructively with AUSTRAC and will continue to do so as it works to the court-ordered timetable in relation to this matter," they said.
"Crown has an ambition to be the world leader in the detection and prevention of financial crime, as part of its commitment to the delivery of safe and responsible gaming and entertainment."
The regulator has also filed similar lawsuits against Sydney's The Star and SkyCity Adelaide in late 2022.
Representing The Star in the Federal Court on Monday, barrister John Sheahan KC said most cases of these kinds resulted in "complete admissions" by the party being sued.
"It is the goal of my client and I'm sure of AUSTRAC to bring that outcome about," he said.
SkyCity's barrister Wendy Harris KC did not say whether her client would make similar admissions.
On Monday, the court also held a brief hearing of a separate lawsuit filed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission against 11 current and former Star directors, giving directions about the next steps in this case.
Former chair John O'Neill, former managing director and CEO Matthias Bekier and directors Kathleen Lahey, Richard Sheppard, Gerard Bradley, Sally Pitkin, Benjamin Heap and Zlatko Todorcevski are in the firing line.
ASIC will be required to hand over any documents it relies on to the directors before defences are filed.
The regulator has not launched any proceedings against the heads of Crown or SkyCity.
