A civil case claiming US$600 million in damages from Genting Americas Inc, a unit of Genting Malaysia Bhd, has been dismissed on July 1 by the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. The court however opened the door for an amended complaint, according to a Monday filing to Bursa Malaysia by the parent company.
The case involves an investor dispute – filed by RAV Bahamas Ltd – about the Resorts World Bimini casino complex (pictured) in the Bahamas.
RAV Bahamas is identified as a 22-percent investor in BB Entertainment Ltd, the operating entity of Resorts World Bimini. Genting Malaysia indirectly holds a 78-percent interest in BB Entertainment.
Genting Malaysia said on Monday that the U.S. court “had granted Genting Americas Inc’s motion to dismiss RAV’s complaint in its current form”.
“The U.S court’s decision reinforces Genting Americas Inc’s position that the complaint is merely a shareholders’ dispute, and that RAV’s current allegations are baseless and without merit,” added the parent company.
But the filing noted: “The U.S. court gave RAV one last opportunity to amend its complaint before it makes its final decision on whether or not to dismiss the lawsuit.”
In mid-October, the Genting group confirmed that a complaint had been filed earlier that month by RAV, with the minority investor seeking damages “in excess of US$600 million”. Genting Americas said at the time that the complaint was “baseless and totally without merit”.
The Tribune, a Bahamas news outlet, reported at the time that RAV was claiming Genting Americas had used its majority position to the detriment of the minority stakeholder.
Elements in that were the alleged transfer of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in liabilities incurred in Genting operations elsewhere, onto Resorts World Bimini’s account books. That was according to the local media outlet, citing the lawsuit.
