Eighteen Crown Resorts employees were detained in China in October 2016. Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Crown Resorts employees detained in China last year have been charged with offences related to the promotion of gambling, the Australian casino operator announced on Tuesday.

The cases of 15 employees have been referred to Shanghais Baoshan district court. In a statement on Tuesday, Crown said that with the matter now before the court it would make no further comment.

The group which consists of a Malaysian, a number of Chinese nationals and three Australian citizens including senior Crown executive Jason OConnor were taken into custody in October after a raids in four cities across China. Casino gambling is illegal in mainland China, and Chinese law prohibits agents from organising groups of more than 10 Chinese citizens to gamble abroad.

The arrests follow a crackdown announced by Chinas Ministry of Public Security last year on foreign casinos targeting Chinese citizens.

The companys major shareholder, James Packer, said at the time of the arrests he was deeply concerned about their welfare.

Since the first raids, Crown has scaled back its Chinese ambitions, selling down its stake in the Macau-based joint venture Melco Crown, before offloading its final stake in Melco Resorts & Entertainment for $987 million.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report

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Crown Resorts staff in China charged with promoting gambling - The Guardian