In order to help improve the fate of its 18 employees currently under arrest in China after being detained in October, Crown Resorts Limited has been urged to make a clear confession to local authorities and be more open with the media regarding the matter.

According to a report from The Australian newspaper, these recommendations came from Chen Youxi, Director for Capital Equity Legal Group, after Crown Resorts Limited saw its Shanghai-based workers formally charged two weeks ago with “gambling crimes”, which are thought to be linked to the casino operator’s apparent illegal promotion of its activities direct to mainland Chinese citizens.

Hangzhou-based Capital Equity Legal Group was behind the high-profile defense of Australian businesspeople Matthew Ng and Charlotte Chou, both of whom are now living in Australia after spending over six years in detention for alleged embezzlement, while Chen claimed that Crown Resorts Limited should also commit to not eschewing the use of junket operators in order to attract Chinese players to its gambling properties in the future.

“A clear attitude will help,” Chen told The Australian. “[Crown Resorts Limited] also needs to hire good lawyers to defend its employees.”

Chen told the newspaper that Crown Resorts Limited needs to “admit clearly to the Chinese authorities what it has done” and explain how it had gone about its business in the country. He stated that the Melbourne-based casino operator should moreover make a promise that it will not “in the future cross the line” into the “grey zone” between what is permitted what is not.

The Australian reported that Crown Resorts Limited is using the services of local law firm Lee-Zhao in representing its employees although some of those in detention have engaged separate additional counsel. Headquartered in Shanghai, this practice is better known for its corporate work and has so far refused to make any contact with media outlets in order to explain the plight of those being held or explain what it is doing to help ameliorate the situation.

Chen told the newspaper that it could prove helpful if Lee-Zhao openly communicated with the media regarding the case while providing core information about those being held. But, he stated that providing money such as via a large donation to charity was “too complicated” and would not help since financial compensation was not the official aim of the prosecutions.