The Star Entertainment Group was found unfit to run a casino in a 2022 inquiry by Adam Bell SC after revelations of a notorious gang-linked junket operator running an illicit cage within a premium gaming room and Chinese debit-card transactions being disguised as hotel expenses.
It was hit with a $100 million fine and had its licence suspended following the October 2022 report.
A second inquiry, also led by Mr Bell, is looking into whether the casino is suitable to regain the licence after concerns were raised reforms may have been prompted by oversight from an interim manager rather than driven by The Star.
Former chief financial officer Christina Katsibouba has fronted the inquiry and detailed instances of secrecy and isolation which ultimately led to her decision to resign.
Shortly after stepping into the chief finance role, Ms Katsibouba said the company faced a dire financial situation from increased controls from the first inquiry and new competition from Crown.
Despite wanting to let the rest of the leadership team know of the company's finances, she said then chief executive Robbie Cooke told her to keep it from the board so as not to "scare" or "impact morale".
"My view was that we should be fully transparent with them so we could ensure everybody was going in the right direction and the minds in the team could focus on developing a business plan just to address earnings, but we didn't quite agree on that," Ms Katsibouba said on Tuesday.
She said it was "isolating" and "stressful" having to keep the finances from the rest of the board.
Ms Katsibouba decided in December to step down from the role after nine years working for The Star, telling Mr Cooke in a meeting she had been unhappy for some time.
"I couldn't get traction on some important pieces of work, that I felt unsupported and just increasingly unable to get time with him," she said.
"I felt that my position had become untenable and I wanted to exit."
Ms Katsibouba is due to conclude her evidence on Wednesday before former chief customer and product officer George Hughes takes the stand.
Star's shares have been dealt heavy blows over the inquiry's two days.
