Star Casino Leaders Found Guilty, Directors Cleared

0:00On March 5th, here's the latest out of Sydney. A federal court judge in Australia has ruled on weather star casino leaders broke their duties. Justice Michael Lee found the chief executive, Matt Beckier, and chief legal counsel, Paula Martin, did breach some responsibilities under the Corporations Act, but he cleared the non-executive directors of those claims. The judge looked back to a 19th century case involving a wealthy Marquess who ignored bank problems and got off the hook. Lee said those days are gone. Directors today cannot claim ignorance. They must actively oversee risks, like money laundering, instead of just delegating. This decision brings relief to non-executive directors across the country. It stresses that their choices get judged based on what they knew at the time, not perfect hindsight. Lee even nodded to a philosopher to make that point clear. He pointed out flaws in how regulators built their case, calling it overly complex at times. Lee also sympathized with boards buried under huge document piles

1:01that act like board reports. Still, he reminded everyone that directors get paid well to dig in and ask tough questions. In the end, the ruling paints a rough picture of stars' leadership culture. It was dysfunctional, with the lays and fixing junket operator issues and misleading bankers. Journalism and a government probe finally uncovered the full mess. The Daily News Now is presented by our sponsor, LinkedIn the description.