The Singapore-based casino run by Sheldon Adelson-owned Las Vegas Sands Corp. – Marina Bay Sands – has reached a settlement for the lawsuit filed by a former patron of the gambling venue, Wang Xi. As revealed by a person familiar with the matter, the casino operator has agreed to make the required payment of S$9.1 million.
The person, who asked not to be named because the matter is confidential, also revealed that Marina Bay Sands has further agreed to permit its former customer an entry to the casino if he does not breach the gambling facility’s policies. As revealed by Bloomberg, a spokesman for the casino has so far refused to comment on the matter. Mr. Wang also declined to comment through the legal advisor that represents him.
The Sheldon Adelson-related casino was brought to court in 2019 by Mr. Wang, a former patron of the venue. The plaintiff insisted that the casino recover the sum of S$9.1 million that he claimed to be transferred from his other casino patrons’ accounts back in 2015 without him specifically giving his approval of such transactions. The complaint filed by the ex-Marina Bay Sands customer was investigated by the Singapore Police Force.
The out-of-court settlement agreed between the parties puts an end to a controversy that made Singaporean authorities start some probes of the casino. As revealed by the individual close to the matter, a “non-admission” of liability from both sides was agreed as part of the settlement.
Casino’s Former Customer Claimed He Had Not Authorized the Controversial Transactions
According to the lawsuit filed by Mr. Wang, the Singapore casino told him that the disputed transactions were permitted by authorization letters signed by the customer in Macau. The casino patron, however, challenged the claims saying that his signature had been copied and used on the authorization letters received by the casino venue without his permission.
The lawsuit said that, according to Marina Bay Sands’ claims, the originals of the documents had been destroyed by the Macau affiliate of the Singaporean casino operator because of confidentiality issues. Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, the casino company failed to verify whether it was really Mr. Wang who had signed the disputed authorization letters before the transactions were carried out.
According to the Casino Regulatory Authority, the Government of Singapore has been considering the implementation of stricter rules for its casinos to prevent money laundering and financing of terrorist organizations. Some legislative thresholds in the Casino Control Act are being reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the country’s regulatory body, as the authorities have been considering whether to lower them to the global standard of S$4,200, which is about $3,000.
Last month, the Casino Regulatory Authority revealed that it has already decided to reduce the threshold for casino cash transactions that are currently subject to due diligence.
For the time being, the Singapore casino is also under some scrutiny of the US Department of Justice that is checking whether Marina Bay Sands had breached any anti-money laundering procedures when handling its VIP customers. Back in January 2020, a grand jury writ was issued by the US Department of Justice to a former compliance chief of Marina Bay Sands.
