Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2013 64 L as Vegas Sands has agreed to forfeit $47.4 million to the US government to avoid prosecution for failing to report millions of dollars in money transfers from a gambler linked to drug trafficking. The deal was finalized on 26th August, according to news reports, in exchange for which the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles will not seek an indictment against the Las Vegas-based casino giant. The settlement is based on what LVS reputedly won from the player, a Chinese-Mexican businessman named Ye Gon Zhenli, who gambled at several major casinos, including LVS’ Las Vegas flagship, The Venetian, between 2004 and 2007. Prosecutors say Mr Ye transferred more than $45 million to The Venetian between 2006 and 2007, when he was the largest cash player the property had had to that point. He lost an estimated $84 million, including $36.5 million in credit that was later written off as uncollectable. His losses were large enough to affect the bonuses of many Sands and Venetian executives, including some involved in compliance, the settlement agreement states. His bets were monitored in real time and had an immediate effect on the company’s earnings, it said. Mr Ye would wire money to LVS and subsidiary companies in small sums from different banks and currency-exchange houses in Mexico, where he operated a pharmaceutical factory. The money would arrive from companies he was not obviously connected to and that didn’t identify him as the beneficiary. TheWall Street Journal , citing information contained in the settlement agreement, reports that a portion of the transfers went into a Sands account that was usually used for aviation services and had not previously been used for gambling transfers. Such accounts are common in the industry to protect high rollers’ privacy. “Millions of dollars earned from illegal drug trafficking were transferred through casino accounts in a complex scheme designed to thwart law enforcement detection,” said Anthony Williams, a special agent with the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles. Prosecutors say at least one LVS officer warned The Venetian about Mr Ye; and in April 2007, the property filed what is known as a “suspicious activity report” on him, as required by federal law; but Off the Hook LVS pays US$47.4 million to settle money-laundering case Ye Gon Zhenli would wire money to LVS and subsidiary companies in small sums from different banks and currency-exchange houses in Mexico, where he operated a pharmaceutical factory. The money would arrive from companies he was not obviously connected to and that didn’t identify him as the beneficiary.