the fraud squad SHOULD care, but they dont. And neither does ASX ceo Elmer the Funky one Kupper, who has a bit bit on his plate at the moment with an investigation by the police over alleged bribery when he was boss of the TAB before he landed the plum job at the ASX.
Tabcorp faces police scrutiny over Cambodian payment
Australian Securities Exchange chief Elmer Funke Kupper was the CEO of Tabcorp when the gaming giant paid $200,000 to the family of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen - a transaction that is being examined by Australian and overseas anti-bribery agencies.
The $200,000 payment was allegedly made as part of a since abandoned strategy to secure a lucrative online gaming licence in Cambodia, and in the face of internal Tabcorp advice that it may be illegal.
A Fairfax Media investigation has uncovered the payment and allegations it was made to a consulting company connected to a sister of Hun Sen, the ruthless strongman who has ruled Cambodia for 30 years.
The $200,000 was channelled via the United States to Cambodia in early 2010, when Mr Funke Kupper was boss of Tabcorp and examining, with a small team of executives and advisers, how the gaming giant could expand into Asian sports betting.
When Fairfax Media called Mr Funke Kupper on Sunday, he refused to acknowledge whether he knew of the payment. "I can't recall anything like that. You should always contact the company in relation to these matters," Mr Funke Kupper said.
The $200,000 transaction was made about 16 months before Mr Funke Kupper left Tabcorp to become CEO and managing director of the ASX, which is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Australian share market by enforcing standards of disclosure on listed companies.
The revelations are likely to prompt an AFP investigation into whether the payment breached bribery laws. Australian and US laws make it illegal to give a benefit to a foreign official or their representative in order to obtain a business advantage.
Gaming industry sources say the $200,000 Tabcorp payment was made to a consulting firm connected to one of Hun Sen's sisters in a transaction facilitated by one of Hun Sen's nephews.
However, an unnamed spokesman for the consulting firm stated: "Tabcorp came to Cambodia to work with us but after they did a [feasibility] study, they decided not to put any investment in the country. We have not received any fee ... there was a middleman who may have received some fees, such as for air plane tickets, and this issue, I don't know about."
"[Hun Sen's] sister is just a normal business person, she's not a member of the government so she needs to do businesses like other people," he said.
The gaming industry sources say the $200,000 payment was routed through a US bank account on the instructions of figures aligned with the Hun Sen government, one of the most corrupt regimes in Asia.
The payment was made as Tabcorp was examining the potential to get Cambodian government backing to launch an online sports betting business. At the time, Tabcorp's newly-acquired subsidiary Luxbet wanted to access the lucrative Asian gambling market in the lead up to the 2010 FIFA world cup. The securing of a Cambodian gaming licence - which would give the company a platform to trade across Asia and internationally - would have only been issued with the permission of Hun Sen or his regime's senior officials.
The Fairfax investigation has confirmed that, as Tabcorp CEO, Mr Funke Kupper helped formulate a strategy to enter the Asian market. Assisting him was a second senior Tabcorp executive, Robert Nason, who is now the chairman of Foxtel and who left Tabcorp before the $200,000 payment was made. Mr Nason told Fairfax Media he has no knowledge of any payment.
Another figure involved in the Cambodian strategy was Greg Purcell, chief executive of New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, that country's most senior racing official. At the time, Mr Purcell was a consultant to Tabcorp.
In a statement to Fairfax Media, Mr Purcell did not respond to specific questions, but said: "I provided consultancy advice to Tabcorp between 2006 and 2010 across a large number of wagering projects. Any advice I provide relating to any business transaction was always premised on transparency and sound business practice.
"I understand that decisions around all of these projects and transactions were appropriately made by Tabcorp, in accordance with a high standard of corporate governance. Standard confidentiality and commercial considerations prevent me from making any further comment."
US anti-corruption authorities responsible for enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - which prohibits the United States being used to facilitate possible bribery - identified the payment at least 12 months ago.
In 2011, Tabcorp abandoned the plan to launch an online sports betting platform in Cambodia.
The company said in a statement: "In 2009 Tabcorp investigated a business opportunity in relation to the Cambodian sports betting market, as some Asian countries were considering deregulating sports betting at the time. Ultimately Tabcorp chose not to pursue the opportunity and the business was never operational.
"Tabcorp takes its obligations under anti-bribery and corruption laws very seriously."
Asked whether it was investigating Tabcorp, the AFP said in a statement that it could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
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