Employees at Australian casino operator Crown Resorts have been charged in China in a case that sent a chill through the gambling industry in Asia.
Australian company Crown Resorts said Tuesday that a group of its employees have been charged with offenses related to the promotion of gambling.
The Crown staff members and their families have faced months of uncertainty after Chinese authorities detained the employees in October. Among them were senior managers, including Jason O’Connor, executive vice president of Crown’s VIP International unit.
O’Connor’s business was focused on high-rolling gamblers, a sensitive area in China at a time when President Xi Jinping’s sweeping corruption clampdown has targeted gambling as a potential way for corrupt officials to launder money.
The detentions of the Crown employees sent a chill through the gambling industry in Asia. The Australian company has reduced its links to China in the aftermath.
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Nineteen people charged in the case are due to appear before Baoshan District Court in Shanghai on June 26, according to a court notice.
