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A security guard at Crown Resorts' flagship Melbourne casino has launched legal action against his direct employer, MSS Security, Crown and James Packer personally, accusing the billionaire of assault.
In documents filed with the Victorian supreme court this week, Iskander Chaban claims he was assaulted by Packer, who allegedly appeared to be intoxicated, while working at the casino on 1 January 2016.
It came as the Victorian government said it would bring forward its regular review of the Melbourne casino licence as a result of evidence of money laundering and other misconduct heard by an inquiry in New South Wales
© Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP A security guard at Crown casino in Melbourne has accused James Packer of assault in a case filed with the Victorian supreme court.Chaban also alleges Packer 'became verbally abusive and threatening' towards him, ran towards him and pushed him in the chest.
He alleges Packer told him: 'I will throw you out of your job.'
Related: James Packer and Crown save directors from shareholder revolt over NSW inquiry
He was then escorted to an office where Crown management allegedly 'verbally abused, humiliated, intimidated, and bullied' him.
Chaban's 'uniform was demanded from him before he was escorted from the Crown Casino premises and driven to Southern Cross train station,' his lawyers told the court.
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He allegedly 'fell ill whilst travelling on a train from Southern Cross train station suffering neck and back injuries requiring transfer to the Northern hospital for treatment'.
Chaban claims that as a result he is suffering from medical problems including cervical spine injuries, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He is seeking damages from his direct employer, MSS Security, Crown and Packer personally.
Former Crown employee Jenny Jiang, who was among 19 arrested in China in 2016 for illegal gambling promotion, has also filed a lawsuit against the company this week.
In Victorian supreme court documents she accuses the company of causing her 'injury, loss and damage' while employed by Crown, but does not provide details.
The Victorian government said it would appoint a dedicated commissioner to the regulator, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, to conduct the review.
The VCGLR is required to conduct a review of Crown's licence every five years and completed its last such review just two years ago, in 2018.
'This review is needed given the evidence we've seen come out of the NSW inquiry,' the Victorian minister for consumer affairs and gaming, Melissa Horne, said in a statement.
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'While we await the findings of that investigation, it's appropriate to bring forward the next review to ensure Crown Melbourne is suitable to hold a licence in Victoria.'
Related: James Packer tells Crown inquiry threats he made in 2015 were 'shameful'
In a statement issued to the ASX, Crown said it would 'continue to work cooperatively with the VCGLR to support this review'.
'Crown has actively engaged with the VCGLR in relation to matters the subject of the ILGA inquiry, including on Crown's reform agenda,' it said.
Crown declined to comment about the Chaban and Jiang lawsuits. A Packer representative has been contacted for comment about the Chaban allegations.
Horne and her predecessor, Marlene Kairouz, have consistently refused requests by Guardian Australia for an interview about the VCGLR and Crown.
The NSW inquiry, conducted by former judge Patricia Bergin for the state's Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, is to report on 1 February.
Horne said the VCGLR review would report to her 'in 2021' and 'the government will take any appropriate and necessary action at the conclusion of the investigation'.
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The VCGLR has come under heavy fire for its lack of action over allegations of money laundering and criminal involvement in high-roller junkets at Crown, with critics deriding it as a do-nothing regulator.
It is still investigating the arrest of Crown workers in China, four years after the fact, and only attempted to interview them last year after seeing one of them on the TV.
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In a statement issued to the ASX, Crown said it would 'continue to work cooperatively with the VCGLR to support this review'.
'Crown has actively engaged with the VCGLR in relation to matters the subject of the ILGA inquiry, including on Crown's reform agenda,' it said.
Crown declined to comment about the Chaban and Jiang lawsuits. A Packer representative has been contacted for comment about the Chaban allegations.
Horne and her predecessor, Marlene Kairouz, have consistently refused requests by Guardian Australia for an interview about the VCGLR and Crown.
The NSW inquiry, conducted by former judge Patricia Bergin for the state's Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, is to report on 1 February.
Horne said the VCGLR review would report to her 'in 2021' and 'the government will take any appropriate and necessary action at the conclusion of the investigation'.
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The VCGLR has come under heavy fire for its lack of action over allegations of money laundering and criminal involvement in high-roller junkets at Crown, with critics deriding it as a do-nothing regulator.
It is still investigating the arrest of Crown workers in China, four years after the fact, and only attempted to interview them last year after seeing one of them on the TV.
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In October, the VCGLR asked Crown to explain why it wasn't in breach of its licence by failing to properly control junket operators.
Related: 'It's my life': James Packer insisted on Crown sale to Macau casino group
Meanwhile, the ILGA this week approved liquor licences needed by Crown to open a resort at its new complex on prime harbourside land at Barangaroo, in Sydney.
However, the ILGA continues to refuse Crown the licence it needs to open the gaming floor.
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The ILGA's decision last month forced Crown to delay opening the casino, which it had hoped to do this month.
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On Wednesday, the chair of the ILGA, Philip Crawford, said the authority was also considering Crown's application for two other liquor licences covering non-gaming areas and hoped to make a decision within a week.
