Embattled Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC has reached an agreement in principle with the Commonwealth Casino Commission on the terms of a settlement that could see IPI retain its casino license.
According to local media reports, a joint notice was filed with the US District Court for the NMI late last week stating, “The parties are in the process of finalizing these terms through a settlement agreement and will provide notice to the court upon the entry of this agreement.”
A status conference is scheduled for 1 July where the parties will provide the court with an update on negotiations.
The potential settlement agreement comes after the court last month granted IPI a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing a hearing into the possible revocation of its license from getting underway, pending a determination of its rights and liabilities by an arbitral tribunal.
IPI has reportedly also reached a funding agreement with an investor, named as the OH Group, that the company says will see it receive US$150 million before the end of June. The funding would be used to repay money owed to the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) and resume casino operations at Imperial Palace · Saipan.
IPI’s casino license was suspended in May 2021 for failure to comply with certain requirements under its license agreement, including payment of its annual US$15.5 million license fee in August 2020, its annual US$3.1 million regulatory fee in October 2020, failure to contribute US$20 million to the community benefit fund in both 2018 and 2019, failure to comply with its minimum US$2 billion capital requirement and failure to comply with a CCC order to pay all money owing to its vendors.
Imperial Palace · Saipan has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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