Marina Bay Sands engages law firm to conduct independent investigation

In Singapore and the operator behind the iconic Marina Bay Sands property has reportedly hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into how the integrated casino resort handles the third-party transfer of gambler deposits.

According to a Wednesday report from the Bloomberg news service, the move from the Marina Bay Sands Private Limited subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corporation comes after the enterprise agreed to compensate a former high-value Chinese player to the tune of approximately $6.5 million in July amid allegations that his cash had been deceitfully dispensed to other gamblers without his permission.

Initial investigation:

The news service reported that this out-of-court settlement subsequently prompted the operator to launch an in-house enquiry managed by international law firm Hogan Lovells that had examined in excess of 3,000 letters of authorization relating to over $1 billion in third-party transactions. This examination purportedly found numerous instances where Marina Bay Sands employees had failed to adequately abide by proper internal transfer standards in allowing payees to utilize pre-signed or photocopied consent forms.

Supplementary study:

Singapore-headquartered Marina Bay Sands Private Limited has run the 2,561-room Marina Bay Sands since its opening in April of 2010 and has now reportedly engaged local law firm Davinder Singh Chambers to manage a follow-up review of its internal procedures with regards to third-party transfers.

Official opinion:

Bloomberg reported that the initial complaint from VIP gambler Wang Xi related to cash the player claimed had been sent to other high-rolling patrons without his knowledge in 2015. The matter purportedly prompted Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority to initiate an investigation of its own although the regulator later determined that Marina Bay Sands had beached none of its requirements despite showing ‘weaknesses’ in the way it had handled such transactions.

American attention:

The news service moreover reported that this unfortunate exercise is being carried out at a time when the United States Department of Justice is known to be investigating Marina Bay Sands Private Limited concerning the effectiveness of the venue’s anti-money laundering procedures. The federal law enforcement body purportedly issued a grand jury subpoena to the three-towered property’s former compliance chief in January seeking either an interview or documentation relating to ‘money laundering facilitation’ and possible abuses of internal financial controls.