More people are being asked to “take tea” with Chinese authorities as Beijing widens its crackdown on James Packers’ Crown Resorts.
This time, 10 Chinese “organizers of junkets licensed by the casino operator to bring high rollers to its Australian properties” are reportedly taken into Chinese authorities’ custody, according to The Australian.
These people were originally from a group of 87 Crown customers who were initially invited by Chinese police to “take tea,” meaning present themselves to authorities for questioning, following the lightning raids that resulted in the detention of 18 Crown Resorts employees. The 10 people currently remain in custody, according to the news outlet.
Last week, Chinese authorities detained Crown staffers, including three Australian nationals, who were based in china as part of the casino operator’s local sales and marketing team. Chinese law prohibits advertising gambling services on the mainland but casino operators are permitted to promote their resorts’ non-gaming tourism offerings.