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UK
Casino Times
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News
07 August 2005
Ministers Linked To US Casino
Chiefs
Dramatic
new evidence about the close relationship between ministers
and some of the most senior figures in US gambling, who were
planning to build Las
Vegas-style
super
casinos across the
UK, can be revealed today.
Documents obtained by The
Observer reveal how the Department
for Culture, Media and
Sport pressed the
Treasury to change rules on money laundering to help US
gambling corporations. They also show that ministers and
department officials held meetings with senior casino
officials behind closed doors in Las Vegas, South Africa and
France as well as the UK.
The disclosures raise
serious questions about statements denying any move on money
laundering given to the Commons by the Culture Secretary,
Tessa Jowell. The Conservatives have accused Jowell of
misleading parliament and have written to her demanding an
explanation.
At the end of last year
the government was planning to publish a highly
controversial bill
that would allow the creation of more than a hundred Las
Vegas-style super casinos across Britain. American gambling
bosses had targeted Britain as an area of rapid expansion
and were looking to make huge profits. The plans provoked
public outrage and were opposed by MPs across all parties,
who feared it would turn Britain into a nation of
gamblers.
Senior policemen were
concerned that criminals would be able to use casinos to
launder money by swapping any illegal funds for gambling
chips then changing them back to cash. Police wanted to
ensure that anybody who spent more than £700 provided
proof of identity, but UK casino bosses warned ministers
this would scupper their investment plans.
In the Commons last
November, Jowell dismissed Tory claims that her department
had been in any discussions with casino groups about money
laundering laws.
Two days later, during
Prime Minister's Questions, Michael Howard pressed Tony
Blair over the issue. The Prime Minister said claims that
casinos had been offered special concessions were
'ridiculous'.
The Observer has obtained
a briefing note sent in May 2004 from culture department
official Richard Beston to culture minister Lord McIntosh,
who was in charge of the bill. This reveals that discussions
about easing the rules on money laundering did take place
between ministers and casino bosses and that Jowell's
department tried to get the Treasury to give casino groups
special exemptions.
The note, released under
the Freedom of Information Act, was sent ahead of a meeting
with MGM's European boss, Lloyd Nathan, at the House of
Lords.
It states: 'We [the
DCMS] have asked the Treasury to consider revising the
third money laundering draft directive to exempt casino
members from showing ID when they enter the actual gaming
floor ... If these discussions fail, I [McIntosh]
will consider with industry how best to resolve this
issue.'
Theresa May, Shadow
Secretary of State for Culture, said she would be writing to
Jowell immediately asking for an explanation: 'While civil
servants where actively working to get money laundering
rules that would benefit American casino operators lifted,
Tessa Jowell and the Prime Minister were telling MPs that
nothing of the sort was taking place. Huge question marks
over the relationship between foreign casino operators and
this government remain, and this fresh disclosure does
nothing to allay those concerns.
'This legislation was
forced through ahead of the general election, despite strong
opposition. I will demand a complete and frank disclosure of
all information relating to this matter.'
A spokesman for Jowell
said: 'The original claim was that special dispensation to
the casino industry had been offered in an email... and that
was untrue. We never denied discussing a wide range of
issues with a wide range of stakeholders about gambling
rules which included the third money laundering
directive.'
The documents also reveal
that ministers and officials from the Culture Department
were so nervous at the response to their plans to deregulate
the gambling industry that they told large US casino groups
to keep quiet about their expansion plans for fear of
alarming the public.
The documents also shine a
light on the high-powered lobbying campaign orchestrated by
the international casino industry. They show how ministers
and officials travelled across the globe at taxpayers'
expense to meet casino bosses. One three-day trip only two
weeks before the Gambling Bill was publish involved four
officials travelling to Las Vegas and staying at the luxury
Venetian Hotel.
Source: The
Observer
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