Saipan’s Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) has given troubled casino licensee Imperial Pacific International 30 days to pay US$62 million in outstanding license fees or face having its license revoked.
According to a report by Saipan Tribune, the deadline follows a Supreme Court order for the CCC to “decide on a reasonable deadline for IPI to pay.” Countdown of the 30 days will begin as soon as IPI acknowledges receipt of the payment order from the CCC, which is expected to take place today (Monday). The order relates to unpaid annual license fees of US$15.5 million for each year from 2020 to 2023.
In determining the “reasonable deadline” last Thursday, Saipan Tribune also reports that the CCC had given IPI director How Yo Chi an opportunity to offer his views on how long the company should be given. He had, in response, called for a two-to-four-year “transition period” in which an ongoing suspension of IPI’s casino license would be lifted and the company allowed to pay US$6 million annually.
He also claimed a Japanese investor has pledged to invest US$350 million into the company’s stalled casino project, Imperial Palace • Saipan, should IPI retain its exclusive license and be allowed to operate again.
Instead, the CCC has opted for the more direct route.
The regulator first filed five complaints against IPI in 2021 for failure to comply with certain requirements under its license agreement.
Those five complaints specifically related to IPI’s failure to pay its annual US$15.5 million license fee in August 2020, failure to pay 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.
While IPI’s license has been suspended since April 2021, the company has been actively working to prevent full revocation – arguing that its failure to pay mandated fees was a result of force majeure. IPI’s casino was closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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