It’s been a rough year for Crown Resorts, and I’m not talking about the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia’s largest gambling and entertainment group has been hit from all sides, facing charges of money laundering, shady junket relationships, and much more. In fact, every time I turn around there seems to be a fresh batch of bad news for the company, and this week is no different.

Crown Resorts has been hit with a couple of new lawsuits to go along with their already existing problems. While these legal entanglements may take years to resolve, they appear to be a gust of wind for a company that’s teetering on the ledge.

Class-Action Lawsuit

Amidst falling stock prices and being denied a new casino in Sydney, Crown Resorts is also facing a class-action lawsuit. This legal action comes courtesy of the Maurice Blackburn Lawyers law firm and argues that the shady morals of Crown executives are to blame for the downturn in stock prices.

This law firm is no stranger to filing suit against Crown. In fact, they previously did so three years ago. This occurred during another drop in stock prices, specifically after it was found that the company was violating laws in China against marketing to locals.

According to Blackburn attorney Miranda Nagy, “We believe these governance failures have caused real loss to shareholders who would have expected best-practice compliance with anti-money laundering obligations, especially given Crown’s repeated public statements that it took compliance with such laws seriously. Instead, it appears Crown’s systems left the company potentially exposed to criminal activity happening on its premises and through its bank accounts.”

This lawsuit spans a six-year period, and anyone who purchased stock from December 11th, 2014 to October 18th, 2023, can participate. Not only does the suit ask for compensation, but it also seeks to require Crown to buy back investor shares at a fair price.

The Latest Lawsuit

As if the above litigation wasn’t enough, Crown Resorts is now looking at yet another lawsuit. And this time, it’s coming from a former employee.

Former Crown Resorts employee Jenny Jiang

Four years ago, Jenny Jiang was working as an administrative assistant for Crown in Shanghai. Allegedly, one of her main responsibilities was marketing Crown casinos to Chinese high rollers. Of course, this activity is illegal under the nation’s laws, and Jenny wound up arrested alongside 18 of her co-workers.

“Every year, the night we’ve been arrested, it feels like an anniversary for us,” Jenny said. “But it wasn’t a good memory because you remember that forever.”

Jiang was forcefully removed from her home as a consequence of her run-in with the authorities. She now has a criminal record in China, something she claims makes it impossible for her to find new employment.

A Woman Scorned

She turned whistle-blower after the incident, speaking to the press about Crown’s behaviour. They responded by firing her, a move that Crown chairperson Helen Coonan would later refer to as “highly inappropriate.” They also blasted her in the press, referring to her as a “gold-digger.”

Jiang viewed this as slander and demanded an apology, but there hasn’t been one to this point. So she decided to file a lawsuit, adding to the company’s laundry list of headaches.

In an interview with ABC News of Australia, she claimed, “Crown operated in China without care to their staff. Their actions hurt me and my family. They have not been held accountable. I want justice.”

She seeks compensation for how she was treated, as well as emotional suffering brought about by her arrest. Jiang also added, “We brought so much revenue, so much business and profit for Crown. And we were just dumped like a used napkin. That’s why I feel so angry. I feel so upset with what happened and what they’re saying about me.”

There was a time when this whole situation could’ve been resolved with a simple apology. Now, in light of the growing case against Crown, it may wind up costing them much more.

Additional Reading

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