Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino reviews transfers of US$1 billion in gamblers’ money
- The casino, owned by US billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation, has hired top Singapore law firm Davinder Singh Chambers LLC
- Singapore police are also investigating third-party transfers, which are legal when authorised, and used to pool winnings and losses at different casinos
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Marina Bay Sands said in a statement that when issues regarding the handling of client transfers were raised, the company thoroughly reviewed the matter and concluded that no patron funds were transferred in a manner that was contrary to the client’s intent.
“MBS continues to work closely with its regulators to monitor MBS’s compliance with all legal obligations,” the casino said.
Las Vegas Sands dropped 4.2 per cent in New York, after earlier plunging as much as 8.9 per cent, the most since March. The shares were down 25 per cent this year as of Tuesday’s close.
A representative for Davinder Singh Chambers declined to comment. The Singapore police force said it is inappropriate to comment as investigations are ongoing.
The client lawsuit sparked scrutiny by a slew of authorities into how Marina Bay Sands handled and monitored third-party transfers. The transactions, when authorised, are legal and used by groups of wealthy gamblers in Asia to pool winnings and losses at different casinos.
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While the junkets are generally more strictly controlled in Singapore, an earlier probe by Marina Bay Sands and the Hogan Lovells law firm found instances of employees not complying with proper standards by filling in payment details on pre-signed or photocopied authorisation forms, according to the sources. It also uncovered cases in which original documents were destroyed, they said.
During the Hogan Lovells review covering 2013-2017, more than 3,000 letters of authorisation were used to endorse transfers of funds from patrons to third parties worth about S$1.4 billion, according to the people.
The US Attorney’s Office meanwhile interviewed a former compliance chief of Marina Bay Sands in July as part of the justice department’s probe into whether anti-money-laundering procedures had been breached in handling high rollers, people familiar with the matter said.
Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino faces money-laundering probe
Of the transactions scrutinised in the Hogan Lovells review, letters authorising transfers worth S$365 million from multiple patrons bore signatures that appeared to be similar, facilitating numerous transfers, one of the people said. One group of employees was involved in S$763 million in transfers. That concentration in just a handful of staff failed to draw the requisite attention, according to the person.
In a response to a request for comment, the Casino Regulatory Authority said it has completed investigations into allegations that Marina Bay Sands carried out unauthorised transfers from a patron’s account. While the regulator concluded the casino did not breach requirements in that case – including those relating to anti-money-laundering – “there were weaknesses in MBS’ casino control measures pertaining to fund transfers,” it said in a statement.
The regulator “takes a serious view of such matters and had directed MBS to strengthen its control measures, which MBS has since undertaken,” according to the statement. “CRA will continue to exercise close oversight to ensure that MBS’ measures are effective.”
Marina Bay Sands told the regulator that it had strengthened its control process in April 2018 to ensure that gamblers authorise each fund transfer, and that the requests are approved by the casino’s compliance department, the person said. Employees also receive training to spot and report suspicious behaviour and any unlicensed junket-related activities.
