Australia's Star Entertainment faces second class action suit over compliance

(Reuters) - Australian casino operator Star Entertainment Group Ltd on Monday said it faces a second class action lawsuit over allegations of failure to comply with disclosure requirements regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules.

The class action, filed by law firm Maurice Blackburn, alleges that between March 29, 2016 and March 16, 2022, Star made misleading representations about its systems and processes for compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations, Star said in a statement.

The lawsuit also accuses Star of failing to disclose relevant information to the market and "conducted its affairs contrary to the interests of the members of The Star as a whole", according to the statement.

Star said it will defend itself against the class action, adding that the claim was "substantially similar" to the class action filed by another law firm Slater & Gordon in March earlier this year.

The Brisbane-based casino firm's shares have dropped 19% in a year marked with investigations and scrutiny of its operations over its alleged failure to prevent money laundering and criminal activity.

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Paul Simao)