Crown (China arrests) class action

Settlement approved 

On 29 October 2021, the parties to the Crown (China Arrests) Class Action announced that they had reached an agreement to settle the class action. The proposed settlement is for $125 million (inclusive of interest and costs). On 29 April 2022, the Federal Court of Australia approved the settlement and appointed Maurice Blackburn as Administrator of the Settlement Distribution Scheme.

Please note that the information on this website relates only to the Settlement of the Crown (China Arrests) Class Action. It does not relate to the separate class action Maurice Blackburn filed against Crown in the Supreme Court of Victoria in December 2020 in relation to allegations that Crown had inadequate systems and processes for ensuring compliance with its obligations under anti-money laundering laws. Any steps you take in relation to the Crown (China arrests) class action will not impact your participation (if any) in that other class action. Please click here for information about that separate class action.

Registration is now closed.

The Federal Court of Australia has ordered that only Group Members who registered with Maurice Blackburn prior to 4.00pm (AEDT) on 25 January 2022 are eligible to participate in the settlement of the Crown (China Arrests) class action. As such, registrations are now closed and Maurice Blackburn is unable to accept late registrations. The Crown (China Arrests) Class Action was in relation to ordinary shares in Crown (Crown Shares) acquired during the period 6 February 2015 and 16 October 2016 (inclusive) (Relevant Period).

Settlement approval 

Following the settlement approval hearing on 28 April 2022, Justice Beach of the Federal Court of Australia made orders approving the settlement of the proceeding. His Honour found that the settlement is fair and reasonable and in the interests of Group Members as a whole, having regard to the claims made on behalf of Group Members who will be bound by the settlement. His Honour also observed that “clearly it is a very strong and favourable settlement.”

Maurice Blackburn has been appointed as Administrator of the Settlement Distribution Scheme. We are currently in the process of gathering and assessing Group Member data which will enable us to distribute settlement funds to eligible Group Members.

Eligible group members will be contacted in the coming months with further information regarding the settlement and next steps involved. Payment will be made as expeditiously as possible. In accordance with the Settlement Distribution Scheme, we anticipate that we will begin making payments to eligible Group Members from October 2022.

Relevant documents