GGRAsia – LVS assessing AML controls at Marina Bay Sands: report

LVS assessing AML controls at Marina Bay Sands: report

Mar 29, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) is said to have set up a special committee to assess potential breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) procedures at its Singapore property, Marina Bay Sands (pictured), reported Bloomberg News.

The media outlet said the committee consists of three independent board members, and it will be reviewing money transfers among high-rollers and third parties at Marina Bay Sands, as well as any possible retaliation against whistle-blowers. Bloomberg cited undisclosed sources said to be familiar with the matter.

United States-based law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP has been hired to assist with the review, according to the report.

GGRAsia approached Las Vegas Sands regarding the reportedly-commissioned new probe. A spokesman said it had no comment. Las Vegas Sands is also the parent of Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd.

In September, it was reported that the management at Marina Bay Sands hired prominent Singapore law firm Davinder Singh Chambers, for a new probe into more than US$1 billion in gamblers’ money, allegedly transferred by resort employees without permission, to third parties.

In June, Bloomberg reported that a person called Wang Xi had sued Marina Bay Sands challenging the authenticity of authorisation documents relating to fund transfers. The person was seeking to recover funds amounting to SGD9.1 million (US$6.5 million) that were in a casino account and that reportedly were sent in 2015 to other people without his approval. The lawsuit was settled out of court in June with “non-admission” of liability from both sides.

According to Bloomberg, the transactions sparking the lawsuit weren’t isolated cases, with reportedly thousands of transfers “worth SGD1.64 billion” shuffled among gamblers by casino employees from 2010 to the end of 2018.

At that time, Bloomberg said Marina Bay Sands was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over compliance procedures in relation to the venue’s AML controls.

Marina Bay Sands had also faced questions in Singapore from the city-state’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) regarding the venue’s money transfer policies, the news outlet said.