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.
