Australian Fortune Teller Believed to Have Laundered Money at Star Sydney  

An Australian fortune teller and feng shui master is facing significant charges due to alleged involvement in a criminal syndicate. Among other things, the woman is believed to have encouraged clients to take gambling loans and to have laundered some AUD 800,000 at The Star Entertainment Group’s Star Sydney casino.

Authorities Arrested a Woman with Alleged Ties to a Criminal Group

The woman, who was identified as an individual with the initials A.P., was arrested by the New South Wales Police after authorities found potential links between her and a multi-million-dollar criminal syndicate. While the woman claimed to be a fortune teller and a feng shui master, Australian officials believe that her actual occupation might have been much more insidious.

According to the allegations, A.P. used her position as a trusted fortune teller to convince others to take huge gambling loans. To that end, she told clients that if they did take such a loan, a billionaire would enter their lives.

Authorities understood that A.P. took a significant cut of each loan for her services. Sometimes, this cut was as high as AUD 150,000, the allegations say.

Investigators believe A.P. to be the head of the Penthouse Syndicate, a criminal group believed to have amassed significant profits through fraud and ties to corrupt bank employees, mortgage brokers, property developers, and lawyers. Authorities believe that A.P. rose to this position following the arrest of the previous ringleader.

Despite claiming to be a humble fortune teller living on a disability support pension, A.P. was, in reality, living in a multi-million-dollar mansion.

The Star Entertainment Group Is in Hot Water

In addition to spelling trouble for the woman herself, the case might make things even more difficult for the embattled The Star, which has been facing significant regulatory pressures for the past few years.  

For context, the casino allowed the woman in question to gamble significant sums of money despite the fact that she told casino officials that she was unemployed and relying on a disability support pension of AUD 400 a week.

Officials believe that the woman was laundering her criminal proceeds at the property, and without much resistance at that. Investigators learned that A.P. would sometimes wager as much as AUD 45,000 without prompting any safer gaming or AML checks.

Star Sydney’s license has been suspended for three years now due to previous regulatory violations. While the casino’s parent company has been working hard to regain suitability, this new case could turn out to be a significant setback.

The silver lining is that prosecutors have not confirmed whether A.P. laundered her proceeds before the regulatory intervention against Star Sydney, or after that.