Crown employees charged in China

Crown Resorts says all of its employees who have been detained in China have now been formally charged with illegally promoting gambling.

Crown Resorts signage

Crown Resorts says all 18 of its employees who have been detained in China have now been charged. (AAP)

The Crown Resorts employees detained in China have all been charged with the illegal promotion of gambling on the Chinese mainland.

The cases of all 17 current and two former employees employees have been referred to Shanghai's Baoshan District Court, the James Packer-controlled casino operator said in a statement on Tuesday.

The employees were taken into custody by Chinese authorities in October.

Among the detained are three Australian citizens including senior Crown executive Jason O'Connor, a Malaysian and a number of Chinese nationals.

China is in the midst of a crackdown on the promotion of gambling on the island of Macau, where Crown's joint venture hosted businessmen, officials and high rollers from the mainland.

For several years, foreign casinos have been engaged in an increasingly high-stakes race to lure the lucrative Chinese VIP market, skirting Chinese law that strictly forbids the promotion of gambling.

Since the detentions, Crown has scaled back its Chinese ambitions, selling down its stake in the Macau-based joint venture Melco Crown, before offloading its final stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment for $987 million.

In a statement on Tuesday, Crown said that, with the matter now before the court, it would not be making further comment.

Crown Resorts shares fell to a year-low of $9.71 following the detentions in October, but currently are trading at $12.835, down 0.19 per cent on Friday's close.


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Published 13 June 2017 2:24pm
Source: AAP


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