Crown Resorts has hired one of China's top commercial lawyers, Liu Haitao from King & Wood Mallesons, in an effort to minimise any fines and jail time for its 19 current and former employees at their trial in Shanghai on Monday.
Mr Liu, who goes by the English name Harry, is best known for his work on the bribery case for British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, which in 2013 had five senior executives convicted of corruption-related offences.
While GSK admitted to bribery for commercial gain and paid a record fine at the time of $US492 million, Mr Liu is credited with securing a non-custodial sentence for its China chief executive Mark Reilly. The other four executives were handed suspended sentences.
Mr Liu confirmed to The Australian Financial Review he was working for Crown, but declined to comment further on the case or his dealings with GSK.
"I can't speak to you as I'm working for Crown," he said via phone.
It is also understood Karl Bitar, the former ALP national secretary who now works for Crown, has been in Shanghai regularly in recent months to help negotiate the terms of any settlement with Chinese authorities.
Mr Bitar did not return calls.
The Crown staff and two former employees, including four Australians, will on Monday morning face the Baoshan District Court on charges of "promoting gambling" and are almost certain to be found guilty. China's legal system is controlled by the Communist Party and its conviction rate is above 99 per cent.
The court on the outskirts of Shanghai has set aside three days for the case, but the trial of all 19 is likely to be wrapped up in a single day with a verdict to follow shortly thereafter, possibly even on the same day.
'Ability to play things'
It is understood Mr Liu initially represented Jason O'Connor, the head of Crown's International VIP business and the most senior executive in custody, but has since taken on a broader role advising the casino group.
According to his biography on the King & Wood Mallesons website, Mr Liu specialises in handling "complicated disputes" and compliance matters often related to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
This year he was ranked as one of China's top lawyers in the area of commercial investigations and anti-corruption by research group Chambers and Partners in its annual Asia-Pacific Guide.
The research group said Mr Liu "has a great ability to play things in the commercial and political framework," citing market sources.
According to one person involved in the GSK case, Mr Liu's main role was guiding the company's China boss, Mr Reilly, through the process and making him understand he needed to plead guilty and confess for the case to move forward.
"Harry helped him understand what he could confess to ... he got him over the line on the confession," said the source.
For the Crown case, the main issue has been containing the charges to "promoting gambling", which carries a maximum sentence of three years jail, rather than more serious crimes like corruption or money laundering.
In China, these pre-trial negotiations are often the most crucial part of a lawyers' job and determine how quickly the matter comes before a court.
For Crown this has happened faster than most expected, after a series of overnight raids last October saw 19 people detained in relation to the case. Packer sellout
Mr O'Connor is being held at the Shanghai Detention Centre, along with 13 other Crown employees and two former employees.
Three junior staff members were released on bail last year.
Two of the other Australians are Pan Dan and Jerry Xuan, while a fourth Australian who also remains in custody has not been identified.
The crisis in China and subsequent drop in high-roller gambling revenues has seen Crown's controlling shareholder James Packer sell out of his Macau joint venture, Melco Crown and scrap plans for a casino in Las Vegas, although the billionaire is still looking to develop one in Japan.
The arrests also precipitated a reshuffle in the executive ranks with Robert Rankin stepping down as Crown chairman in January and chief executive Rowen Craigie leaving the company in late February.
John Alexander, a long-time confidant of the Packer family has assumed control of the Casino group as executive chairman, while Mr Packer has also rejoined the board.
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