Crown Resorts money-laundering-risk shareholder class action (Crown II) (AUD 72.5M): What Was Paid, Who Was Covered, Status

Crown Resorts agreed to pay AUD 72.5 million, inclusive of legal, administration and other costs, to settle the shareholder class action Lieberman v Crown Resorts Ltd, and Nichols J of the Supreme Court of Victoria approved the settlement on September 19, 2025 in [2025] VSC 596. The AUD 72.5 million is a gross settlement sum, not what members receive.

The settlement is paid in three installments, interim payments went out in July 2026 and registration closed in August 2024. How we source and check every case: methodology.

Deductions as approved in [2025] VSC 596; the net pool is derived and an upper bound.

What this case is about

Lieberman v Crown Resorts Ltd, docket S ECI 2020 04566 in the Supreme Court of Victoria, was commenced on December 11, 2020 by shareholders who say Crown misled the market about its anti-money-laundering systems.

Crown Resorts Limited is the defendant, Maurice Blackburn is class counsel and Allens is defense counsel. A complaint states one side's allegations, and only the court's orders decide anything.

What the shareholders alleged about Crown's anti-money-laundering systems

The claim alleged that Crown misled the market about the adequacy of its anti-money-laundering systems, including the VIP international business and the junket program, and breached continuous disclosure rules, which is the applicants' account, not a finding. It also alleged conduct contrary to the interests of members as a whole.

Crown's shares fell on October 19, 2020, when AUSTRAC announced a formal enforcement investigation. This is one of the shareholder and securities lawsuits against gambling companies we track.

Why the settlement and the court's approval matter

The parties settled at mediation, the deed is dated May 9, 2025, and the court approved it on September 19, 2025 after a hearing on September 5, 2025. Nichols J approved the settlement in [2025] VSC 596, revised on September 23, 2025, and left the 27.5 percent group costs order unchanged.

An approval is not a finding on the claims. The record we hold shows no admission by Crown and no finding on the merits.

Who is covered

The class is people who acquired or held Crown Resorts shares between December 11, 2014 and October 18, 2020, inclusive.

The class: Crown shares acquired or held between 11 December 2014 and 18 October 2020

Being in the class and being paid are different things: only group members who registered by the deadline share in the distribution. Three points mark the edges.

• In the class: anyone who acquired or held Crown Resorts shares in the window, unless they opted out.
• Out of the class: people who opted out, and people whose holdings fall outside the window.
• Not shown in the record: any registration step after the deadline, and any individual holding or loss figure.

Registration and opt-outs: about 4,600 registered, 193 opted out

The approval judgment records about 4,600 registered group members and 193 who opted out. It records no objections to the settlement at paragraph 36.

The deadline was 4 pm (AEST) on August 23, 2024, set by orders of Justice Nichols of June 7, 2024, as the Supreme Court of Victoria's case page shows.

The approval judgment at paragraph 11 writes August 24, 2024. Our guide on how to join, opt out or sue alone in a gambling class settlement explains what registering and opting out mean.

Is there a payout?

Yes, a payout exists, but only for group members who registered by the deadline in August 2024: the AUD 72.5 million settlement is being paid in three installments, interim payments went out in July 2026, and registration is closed.

The payout formula: AUD 72.5 million less approved deductions

Gross settlement = AUD 72,500,000, inclusive of legal, administration and other costs (deed 2025-05-09; approved 2025-09-19, revised 2025-09-23, [2025] VSC 596)
Approved deductions (group costs order 27.5% of the settlement sum; approved administration up to AUD 696,736.70 incl. GST; costs expert AUD 4,208; applicant reimbursement AUD 20,000)
  Group costs = 27.5% x AUD 72,500,000 = AUD 19,937,500
  DERIVED, upper bound: AUD 72,500,000 - 19,937,500 - 696,736.70 - 4,208 - 20,000 = about AUD 51,841,555 available to registered members (administration is "up to")
Registered members share the remainder pro rata under the settlement distribution scheme
Registered group members: about 4,600; opted out: 193
Per-member amount: not published; no average is stated

No per-member amount has been published, because each registered member's share depends on that member's recognized loss under the distribution scheme. The derived net pool of about AUD 51.8 million is an upper bound, since administration costs are approved only "up to" their cap.

We state no average, because none exists in the record. For what other gambling settlements actually paid each claimant, see class action payout per person.

The three installments and what has been paid

Schedule from the approval judgment and the administrator's page.

The first AUD 20 million was paid before approval, the second AUD 25 million was received on May 11, 2026 and the third AUD 27.5 million is due by May 10, 2027. Group costs are deducted from each installment: AUD 5.5 million, AUD 6.875 million and AUD 7.5625 million.

Interim distribution payments were made in July 2026. For the usual gap between approval and payment, see how long gambling lawsuits and settlements take.

How the distribution scheme pays registered members

Maurice Blackburn Pty Ltd is the court-appointed Scheme Administrator and pays by electronic transfer to an Australian bank account. Our page on Maurice Blackburn settlement scheme administration covers its role in gambling settlements. The scheme sets these rules:

• Minimum distribution amount: AUD 20.
• Overseas bank account: transfer at the member's cost (clause 7.2).
• Failed bank details: forfeiture 60 days after a distribution date (clause 9.6).
• Trade check notice: 28 days to correct (clause 5).
• Residual funds: shared pro rata, or donated to Alliance for Gambling Reform Incorporated if sharing is uneconomical (clauses 10.4 to 10.5).

What happens next

The next events are the final installment due May 10, 2027 and the final distribution, expected after it in mid-2027.

The final installment and the final distribution

Interim payments went out in July 2026, and the final distribution is expected after the third installment. The administrator's completion report is not confirmed in the court record.

The record we hold states no registration route after the deadline. We re-check this page when the third installment falls due.

Timeline

The case ran from a December 2020 filing to a September 2025 approval and payments from 2026.

The deadline row follows the court's orders of June 7, 2024; the approval judgment writes the following day.

What the court has decided so far

Two orders carry the weight: the group costs ruling of December 16, 2022 (Stynes J, [2022] VSC 787) and the approval judgment of September 19, 2025, revised September 23, 2025 (Nichols J, [2025] VSC 596).

The 2022 ruling set a sliding scale of 27.5, 22 and 16.5 percent, with the lower rates applying above AUD 100 million and AUD 150 million. The approval left the 27.5 percent order unchanged, and at paragraph 48 the judgment gives the median Victorian group costs order as 25 percent.

No admission is stated in the record we read. Every case against this company, including the regulator and shareholder cases, is listed on the page for Crown Resorts lawsuits.

Documents and sources

Every date and figure on this page comes from the Supreme Court of Victoria's group-proceeding page, the approval judgment, the group costs ruling and the Scheme Administrator's page, listed here with the copy we read.

• Supreme Court of Victoria, Crown Resorts shareholder group proceeding page (primary).
• Approval judgment, Lieberman v Crown Resorts Ltd [2025] VSC 596, revised September 23, 2025 (primary).
• Group costs ruling, Lieberman v Crown Resorts Ltd [2022] VSC 787 (primary).
• Scheme Administrator's class action page (law-firm page, read as a lead, never the sole source of a status value).
• Settlement Distribution Scheme (administrator's copy of the court-approved scheme).

Related cases

Related matters show how this settlement compares.

The first Crown shareholder settlement (China arrests)

Crown's earlier shareholder class action over the China arrests settled for AUD 125 million in 2022, a separate case.

Beach J approved it on April 29, 2022 in Zantran Pty Ltd v Crown Resorts Ltd (No 4) [2022] FCA 500, and Crown settled without admitting liability. Read the page on the Crown Resorts China-arrests shareholder class action (AUD 125M) for that case.

Other Crown and Star cases

Crown and Star faced regulator and shareholder cases in the same years.

• AUSTRAC v Crown AUD 450 million penalty: Federal Court, NSD134/2022, where Lee J ordered AUD 450 million on July 11, 2023 ([2023] FCA 782), the regulator case that followed the 2020 investigation announcement.
• Star Entertainment shareholder class action: S ECI 2022 01039 in the Supreme Court of Victoria, with a 14 percent group costs order and no settlement on the court page.
• Crown v Zantran Full Court appeal: the 2020 appeal in the first Crown shareholder case.

Every case against Crown is collected under every case against Crown.

Questions people ask

How much was the Crown shareholder settlement?

AUD 72.5 million, inclusive of legal, administration and other costs, approved on September 19, 2025. It is a gross sum, and the approved deductions are listed above.

Is there a Crown class action payout?

Yes, for registered group members only; interim payments went out in July 2026 and the final distribution is expected after May 10, 2027. For how settlements work out per person, see what gambling settlements actually paid each claimant.

Can I still register for the Crown class action?

The registration deadline was in August 2024; the record we hold shows no later route. Other Australian class actions are listed under gambling lawsuits in Australia.

When will the final payment be made?

The last installment is due by May 10, 2027 and the final distribution is expected in mid-2027. Both are expected dates, and the administrator's completion report is not confirmed in the court record.

Is this the same as the first Crown class action?

No; the first Crown shareholder action concerned the China arrests and settled for AUD 125 million. See Crown's first shareholder class action.

Does the settlement mean Crown admitted wrongdoing?

The record we hold does not state an admission; a settlement approval is not a finding on the claims. Nichols J approved the settlement on September 19, 2025 without a finding on the merits.

Filing a settlement claim is free. GamblingLawsuits.org is not a law firm and not a claims administrator, and registration for this case is closed. Last checked November 14, 2026.