David Attenborough's Tabcorp cops a mauling from AUSTRAC boss Paul Jevtovic
Tabcorp boss David Attenborough welcomed the Federal Court's approval on Thursday of a $45 million fine that settles its legal battle with the government's financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC.
"Tabcorp is pleased to have concluded the proceedings. We remain firmly committed to continuing to work co-operatively with AUSTRAC into the future," he said.
And he obviously hoped everyone would go away quietly.
But did AUSTRAC boss Paul Jevtovic have anything to say about the court finding that Tabcorp broke the law 108 times over five years?
Well, we're glad you asked.
"The non-compliance arises from a corporate culture that is indifferent to money-laundering and terrorism-financing requirements," said Jevtovic at a press conference following the settlement.
According to AUSTRAC, it was not until the agency drew the program's deficiencies to Tabcorp's attention that it started to fix its money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing program.
"Such a culture puts the community at risk by creating opportunities for terrorists to fund attacks against Australian citizens and interests, and for serious and organised crime to divert wealth to the black market and fund other illegal activity such as drug trafficking," said Jevtovic.
And here we were thinking the only problem was dopey rugby league players putting on dodgy bets.
Luckily, Jevtovic eventually offered an olive branch to the gaming giant.
"As one of the world's largest publicly listed gambling companies, I see a critical role Tabcorp can play in supporting AUSTRAC's mission in the future, in the global fight against terrorism and organised crime," he said.
Pot luck
Queensland Bauxite, that dynamic little explorer headed by Pnina Feldman – sister of the now-bankrupt Joe Gutnick – was not about to rest on its laurels so soon after putting its share price into orbit with plans to acquire a 55 per cent stake in Medical Cannabis Ltd (MCL).
The stock went wild again on Thursday when it announced that MCL received permission from the NSW Department of Primary Industries to grow its product "indoors" in a "private location in NSW".
The stock has now more than tripled since announcing its entry to the medicinal cannabis market.
"Monday and Tuesday this week QBL was the No.1 traded stock of the small caps on the ASX. Check out today's trading after this announcement," said Feldman in an email to CBD.
Not that she's forgetting about the company's main business. Another market update from Queensland Bauxite reported it is working towards final government approval to secure a minerals development licence for the South Johnstone Bauxite Project.
Ten play
Siobhan McKenna was the loyal lieutenant who helped Lachlan Murdoch grow his own media empire during those years in the wilderness when he walked out on dad – Rupert Murdoch – at News Corp.
So it makes sense that now he is back at the family firm, he wants to bring McKenna in with him.
The company announced on Thursday morning that McKenna is taking up a new role across Foxtel, Fox Sports and Sky News. She joined the Foxtel board last year.
The announcement was made soon after she resigned as Lachlan's representative at Network Ten.
It makes sense she could not do both roles, given News Corp also has a significant stake in Ten – and it already has a man on the board, Peter Tonagh.
Having two Foxtel employees on the Ten board – one of whom still has their hands on one of the biggest radio networks in the country – might have played havoc with the fragile reasoning that regulators used to wave through this deal in 2015.
As Lachlan's Girl Friday at Illyria, McKenna played a key role in at least one of the corporate overhauls of the struggling Network Ten – which obviously did not go to plan – but she deserves some accolades for the turnaround of DMG Radio, now known as Nova Entertainment. It is now the darling of the radio sector.
McKenna has more recently made a name for herself independently of Lachlan's circle. There was her role on the NBN board, the Productivity Commission, and last year she was appointed to the Woolworths board.
The big question is, who is calling the shots at Illyria? McKenna is still the managing partner, and Lachlan obviously has his hands full with his day job.
Follow CBD on Twitter. Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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