Las Vegas Sands Reaches Agreement with Nevada Regulators
May 11 2016 - 10:04PM
Dow Jones News
By Alexandra Berzon
Nevada regulators said casino giant Las Vegas Sands Corp.
violated state gambling laws by operating in an "unsuitable
manner," basing their decision on previously announced federal
allegations that the company violated money-laundering and
bribery-law accounting provisions in its Macau and Las Vegas
casinos.
The company agreed to pay the state a fine of $2 million without
admitting or denying guilt, according to a pending settlement
agreement. That agreement will go before the Nevada Gaming Control
Board for approval, officials said. A formal complaint was released
by Nevada gambling regulators on Wednesday.
"The company cooperated fully with the Nevada Gaming Control
Board and looks forward to a resolution of this matter," Las Vegas
Sands spokesman Ron Reese said.
Las Vegas Sands last month agreed to pay $9 million to settle
Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it had poor
accounting controls in its China operations, particularly for money
paid to a consultant. Those allegations focused primarily on the
company's sponsorship of a Chinese basketball team, plans to
develop a business center in Beijing and a Macau ferry deal.
The company continues to cooperate with a Justice Department
investigation into related matters, Mr. Reese said.
The Nevada allegations and settlement announced Wednesday are
also linked to a settlement that Las Vegas Sands signed in 2013
with the Justice Department. Under the agreement, Sands avoided
criminal prosecution but agreed to make a $47 million payment and
accept the Justice Department's assertion that the company failed
to report suspicious financial activity by one of its big gambling
customers.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has been investigating the
Sands's accounting matters for years but had indicated it would
wait until after federal agencies handled the same matters before
taking action. Nevada law allows regulators to take broad action in
response to allegations of violations of gambling law, including
revoking casino licenses, but such actions are extremely rare.
Write to Alexandra Berzon at alexandra.berzon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2016 21:49 ET (01:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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