Troy Stolz is a whistleblower and former compliance officer and head of anti-money laundering for ClubsNSW. In December of 2022 ClubsNSW sued Mr. Stolz for allegedly leaking documents to journalists which revealed that up to up to 95% of venues in NSW were not compliant with counter-terrorism finance and money laundering law. A NSW Crime Commission task force also revealed that “billions of the $95 billion (pokies turnover in NSW pubs and clubs last year) likely the proceeds of crime.” Mr. Stolz in turn sued ClubsNSW seeking damages for defamation and payments related to various workplace claims. In February 2023 Mr. Stolz’s legal battle with ClubsNSW was resolved.
Mr. Stolz’s case being settled was reported on the 7th of February 2022, roughly a week after ClubsNSW announced the sacking of former boss, Josh Landis. Mr. Stolz tweeted regarding the settlement:
“I am hapy 2 announce that the litigation between me & ClubsNSW has resolved. Im relieved Its over& that I can now concentrate on my health I will continue to push 4 gambling reform in NSW but I am no enemy of ClubsNSW or clubs generally Clubs are an important part of communities”
ClubsNSW said they were “pleased that a mutually agreeable settlement has been reached in the matters with Mr Troy Stolz.” ClubsNSW had claimed in a previous statement prior to the case being resolved that:
“Mr Stolz seeks to portray himself as a saint. The truth is, he initiated baseless legal actions against ClubsNSW, then used every opportunity which gullible media would provide in order to seek millions of dollars in ‘go away’ money from ClubsNSW.”
Mr. Stolz is now running as an independent candidate for the seat of Kogarah at the NSW State Election, directly opposing NSW Labor Leader, Chris Minns. Mr. Stolz stated that he would withdraw his candidacy if Mr. Minns “supported cashless gaming or offered bipartisan support to Perrottet’s reforms.”
On the 16th of February 2023, ClubsNSW also dropped their criminal contempt charges against friendlyjordies.
Legal Battle with ClubsNSW
In December of 2022 Mr. Stolz appeared in court for 5-days of cross-examination by ClubsNSW's defence lawyers. ClubsNSW lawyer Michael Seck questioned Mr. Stolz on his contacting of a staffer for Mr. Wilkie and not the MP himself. He also questioned Mr. Stolz regarding his drinking behaviour and his memories before his resignation from ClubsNSW:
“Seck: You can’t tell me what days and what times you were affected by having drunk a few bourbons? Anytime you give evidence about events which occurred in October or November 2019, would it be fair to say that there was a strong possibility that you were affected by alcohol as a result of drinking?”
“Stolz: I’ve had problems answering some more recent questions, but, you know, five rounds of radiation and eight rounds of chemo will do that to you. So not necessarily alcohol. But if you’ve experienced chemo, you might understand.”
Mr. Stolz is currently suffering from Stage 4 Bone Cancer. Following his court attendance, Mr. Stolz then “ended back in hospital on the weekend,” suffering from chest pains and shortness of breath as a result of his chemotherapy treatments.
On Wednesday the 14th of December Anne Fitzgerald, Mr. Stolz’s former manager and the ClubsNSW staffer who personally hired Mr. Stolz into his role as their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing compliance manager, was cross-examined and questioned regarding alleged “ring-fencing” of Mr. Stolz by ClubsNSW.
After working for ClubsNSW, Mr. Stolz became employed by Initialism, an anti-money laundering compliance company. Ms. Fitzgerald provided evidence that ClubsNSW was “conducting an internal investigation” into Mr. Stolz and had contacted Mr. Stolz’s new employer.
One email, which Ms. Fitzgerald had sent to Mr. Stolz’s new boss, Neil Jeans, read “As you can imagine we cannot now support any company that Troy is offering.” Ms. Fitzgerald then thanked Mr. Jeans for restricting Mr. Stolz from working within NSW: “I believe you have informed Jim [Terrie] for not using Troy in NSW Clubs and I thank you for that.”
According to Callum Foote for Michael West Media, “this was a part of a deliberate plan initiated by the former ClubsNSW CEO Anthony Ball to ice Stolz out of NSW.” Another email read:
“Guys anyone who is happy to work with Mr Stolz knowing what they know isn’t for us. We need a plan to deal with them.”
Three additional hearing days were originally added, prior to the two parties settling the case, for February 2023 with final oral submissions scheduled for the following month.
*This article was updated on the 18th of February 2023 to reflect recent developments in Mr. Stolz’s case.