LVS Las Vegas Sands Corp

Las Vegas Sands Corp. agreed to pay $9 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, putting an end to a five-year investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the agreement, Las Vegas Sands neither admitted nor denied any of the SEC's findings.

The SEC alleged that the hotel and casino operator didn't properly authorize or document millions of dollars in payments to a consultant facilitating business activities in China and Macao. The agency accused Las Vegas Sands of keeping inaccurate records and lacking documentation for roughly $62 million in payments to the unnamed consultant.

The consultant—internally referred to as a "beard"—acted as an intermediary to obscure the company's role in certain business transactions, such as the purchases of a basketball team and a building in China, where casino gambling and team ownership by a casino isn't permitted, according to the SEC.

Las Vegas Sands said Thursday that the projects in question were orchestrated through a consultant whose activities under a former company president and other former employees weren't sufficiently monitored.

"We are pleased to have the matter resolved," Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson said. "We will build on this experience," he said, adding that the company "started corrective action on this particular matter prior to the initiation of the government investigations."

In addition to the $9 million civil penalty, the company has agreed to retain an independent compliance consultant for two years.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 07, 2016 14:45 ET (18:45 GMT)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024