Star Shareholder Class Action

Am I eligible to join this class action?

You're eligible to register if you:

• acquired Star shares (including by way of dividend reinvestments) in the period 29 March 2016 to 16 March 2022; or
  
• held Star shares as at the commencement of trading on 29 March 2016 and still held some Star shares as at 16 March 2022.

Signing up to the class action will not expose you to any upfront costs. All costs in the proceeding will be borne by Maurice Blackburn unless and until there is a successful outcome. In the event of a successful outcome, any costs payable by Maurice Blackburn will be deducted from, and will not exceed, any compensation that you're entitled to receive. All such costs are required to be considered and approved by the Court.

About this class action

On 4 November 2022, Maurice Blackburn filed a class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Star Entertainment Limited (ASX: SGR).

The proceeding alleges that in the period from 29 March 2016 to 16 March 2022, Star had inadequate systems and processes for ensuring compliance with its obligations under anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing laws (CTF), and had inadequate systems and processes for ensuring compliance with Australian regulatory obligations. 

This action follows damning revelations made in a joint investigation by news program 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age into Star on 10 October 2021. 

At the centre of the revelations is a 2018 audit report prepared by KPMG and presented to Star’s board’s audit committee which set out deficiencies in Star’s systems and processes, noting, among other things, that there was “inadequate resourcing in place to operate the AML/CTF Program” and that its risk assessment system “does not consider terrorism financing as required by the AML/CTF Act”.

The day after the publication of these media reports saw a significant market response. Star’s share price declined approximately 23% ($0.98) in a single day of trading on 11 October 2021.

Following the media revelations, an Independent Review of Star’s suitability to hold a casino licence in New South Wales was established under the Casino Control Act 1992 (NSW). Adam Bell SC was appointed as the Commissioner to head the Review. The Bell Review uncovered further alleged misconduct, and found Star “presently unsuitable to hold a casino licence” in New South Wales.

A further review was established in Queensland under the Casino Control Act (1982). The Honourable Robert Gotterson was appointed to conduct the review. Following the release of the Gotterson Review, the Queensland Attorney-General announced that she had formed the view that Star was unsuitable to hold a casino licence in Queensland.

The class action claims that Star engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct; breached its continuous disclosure obligations; and conducted its affairs contrary to the interests of shareholders as a whole in the period.