U.S. Probes Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Casino
The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating Marina Bay Sands Pte allegedly over concerns about potential money laundering activities.
A grand jury subpoena called on a former compliance chief of Marina Bay Sands Pte to provide an interview or documents on «money laundering facilitation" and any abuse of internal financial controls», according to a «Bloomberg» report, including records related to gambling junkets and third-party lending via casino credit.
The report citing the document claims that information has been requested from another former employee allegedly tasked with carrying out fund transfers to high rollers.
Money Laundering
Gambling junkets are popular vehicles in Macau for Chinese gamblers to skirt strict capital controls by pledging assets on the mainland in exchange for casino credit, the report added, though controls are much stricter in Singapore.
Simultaneously, Marina Bay Sands is also facing a probe by the city-state’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) over its money transfer policies though the local agency claims it has not received related requests from the Department of Justice.
The CRA declined to comment on its own ongoing probe but said that it was «committed to ensuring that the casinos in Singapore, including Marina Bay Sands, remain free from criminal influence or exploitation, and takes a serious view of any allegations of unauthorized money transfers».
