A federal judge in the United States on Wednesday dismissed a civil suit by the country’s Department of Justice that aimed to compel Steve Wynn (pictured in a file photo), founder of casino business Wynn Resorts Ltd, to register as an “agent” of the People’s Republic of China.
According to media reports, the judge made no determination about whether Mr Wynn had in fact acted as an agent of Beijing. But the judge said that, despite his reservations, the U.S. government had no legal authority under the country’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to force Mr Wynn to register retroactively after his alleged relationship with Chinese authorities ended.
Mr Wynn stepped down from the Wynn group in February 2018. Wynn Resorts is parent of Wynn Macau Ltd, which operates two casino complexes in Macau, a special administrative region of China.
The Department of Justice had in May said Mr Wynn should lodge his details under FARA, because he had on several occasions between June 2017 and August 2017, asked either President Donald Trump, or his administration, to intervene on behalf of China.
The matter concerned a Chinese businessperson present in the U.S. but wanted by the Chinese authorities on suspicion of corruption, and that China wished to see removed from the U.S.
Mr Wynn had in July asked the court to dismiss the suit. His legal representation argued that under precedent, any obligation he had to register under FARA – even were the allegations true – ended by October 2017, the date at which the Department of Justice acknowledges Mr Wynn’s relationship ended with the Chinese government.
In a statement released late Wednesday, quoted by local media outlets, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice said the “government respectfully disagrees” with the ruling, and was considering its options going forward.
