Australian Securities & Investments Commission secures six and seven year bans and AUD 1.1 million in penalties against two former Star executives

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission said the Federal Court has disqualified former Star Entertainment Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Mathias Bekier from managing corporations for six years and former General Counsel, Company Secretary and Chief Legal and Risk Officer Paula Martin for seven years. The court also ordered pecuniary penalties of AUD 700,000 for Bekier and AUD 400,000 for Martin after previously finding they breached their duties to Star by failing to properly manage risks linked to money laundering and criminal activity at the casino group. Both were also ordered to pay 45% of ASIC’s costs. The court’s findings were tied to how the two executives handled serious risk issues in a highly regulated environment. Justice Lee said senior executives at casino operators and other risk-intensive public companies should expect substantial personal consequences for failures of this kind. In Martin’s case, the judgment highlighted a failure to report alarming information about an overseas gambling junket to the board, despite her senior legal and risk responsibilities. ASIC linked the outcome to its enforcement focus on governance and directors’ duties failures. ASIC began the civil penalty case in December 2022 against 11 current and former Star directors and officers for alleged breaches of duty under section 180 of the Corporations Act. On 5 March 2026, the Federal Court found Bekier and Martin had contravened the law, while dismissing ASIC’s case against seven former non-executive directors. Two other former executives had already admitted breaches and were penalised in February 2025.