Singapore court dismisses a Bloomberry petition vs GGAM
Philippines-based casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp says the Singapore High Court has dismissed a petition from two Bloomberry subsidiaries asking the judicial body to “set aside/resist” enforcement of a 2019 final financial award payable to entities linked to U.S.-based Global Gaming Asset Management LLC (GGAM).
Bloomberry developed and operates the Solaire Resort and Casino (pictured), a property that opened in the Philippine capital Manila in March 2013.
The decision made by a Singapore-based arbitration tribunal in September 2019 ordered two Bloomberry subsidiaries – Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc and Sureste Properties Inc – to pay US$296 million to Global Gaming Philippines LLC and GGAM Netherlands BV.
The decision from Singapore’s High Court – the lower tier of the city-state’s Supreme Court – was issued on May 29, said the casino operator in a Monday filing. The High Court had already in January dismissed an appeal by the Blomberry units.
The case related to the termination of a management services agreement that had existed between the Bloomberry subsidiaries and the entities linked to GGAM. The latter group in turn has links to former casino executive William Weidner.
In September 2016, the international tribunal in Singapore ruled that the Bloomberry subsidiaries were “not justified” in terminating the management services contract with the GGAM unit. The tribunal also affirmed GGAM’s ownership of – and right to sell – the 921,184,056 shares it held in Bloomberry.
In Monday’s filing, Bloomberry said the Singapore High Court ruled that a decision - that requires Bloomberry’s units to pay for the shares held by GGAM or take steps to facilitate GGAM’s sale of such shares – “was not outside the scope of the parties’ arbitration agreement”.
The court also “rejected the challenges” based on the “FCPA findings” – a reference to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – and GGAM’s “fraudulent concealment of evidence during the arbitration”.
The costs associated with the case were charged against the Bloomberry subsidiaries, said the parent company. The units have until June 29 to appeal the latest decision to the highest court in Singapore, the Singapore Court of Appeal. The appeal would focus on flaws in the decision, stated Bloomberry.
The casino operator noted that, according to its legal advisors, “the arbitration award is not self-executing and must be confirmed by a domestic court for it to have the legal effect of a judgment” in the Philippines.
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