Australian casino operator Crown Resorts saw more of its dirty laundry aired in public this week as local gaming regulators continue to probe its former China-based operations.

The probe into Crown’s activity by the New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) heard testimony this week from Jason O’Connor, Crown’s former international VIP services chief, who spent months in a Chinese prison after he and 18 other staffers were arrested in 2016 for promoting gambling to mainland residents.  

On Wednesday, O’Connor told the inquiry that he received an email from a staffer in March 2014 relaying concerns from a Mr. Xu, one of Crown’s Chinese VIP gambling customers, that Chinese authorities were preparing to arrest Crown’s staff for recruiting Chinese citizens to gamble abroad at Crown’s Australian casinos.

China allows integrated resort operators to promote their non-gaming amenities to mainland residents but any mention of gambling is strictly forbidden. Crown’s direct dealings with Chinese VIP gamblers were no secret, and even Crown’s former joint venture partner thought the company was playing with fire.