SINGAPORE — Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is facing an investigation by the US Department of Justice over alleged breaches of anti-money laundering regulations at its casino, reported Bloomberg on Thursday (June 4).

According to the report, US officials are looking into the way MBS handled the accounts of top gamblers at the casino, and unnamed sources familiar with the matter said the investigation is still in its early stages.

A grand jury subpoena was reportedly issued to a former compliance chief at MBS in January.

The subpoena requested an interview or documents on "money laundering facilitation" and any abuse of internal financial controls or retaliation against whistleblowers, Bloomberg reported.

The former compliance chief was asked to produce records related to such violations, including gambling junkets and third-party lending using the casino's credit. The subpoena also asked for information on another former casino employee, who unnamed sources said carried out fund transfers to high rollers.

Bloomberg said the US Attorney's office in Las Vegas was unable to confirm or deny ongoing investigations, while MBS responded saying it has investigated all instances of wrongdoing brought to its attention and that it takes any suggestion of inappropriate activity seriously.

MBS is part of American billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and is one of the most profitable casinos in the world.

Las Vegas Sands has come under scrutiny by the US Justice Department in the past, Bloomberg reported. It paid US$47.4 million (S$66 million) in 2013 to end an investigation into its failure to report suspicious deposits and US$6.96 million in 2017 to resolve a probe into alleged violations of US law in connection with bribes paid to China and Macau government officials.

Separately, MBS is being investigated by Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) for its money transfer policies, Bloomberg added.

I

n response to TODAY's queries, CRA said it was already aware of the allegations prior to the publication of Bloomberg’s article.

"CRA is committed to ensuring that the casinos in Singapore, including Marina Bay Sands, remain free from criminal influence or exploitation, and takes a serious view of any allegations of unauthorised money transfers involving the casinos," the authority said.

"We are unable to comment further as investigations are ongoing," it added.

News about the casino’s money transfer practices surfaced in 2019, when a lawsuit was filed against it by one Wang Xi, who is seeking to recover S$9.1 million that he said was sent to other casino patrons in 2015 without his approval. According to Bloomberg, the Singapore Police Force is investigating the case, and MBS has declined to comment on it.

Citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said that an internal probe by MBS found instances of its employees filling in payment details on pre-signed or photocopied authorisation forms. In some cases, the original documents were destroyed.

MBS — which reportedly has had at least six chief compliance officers over the last decade — put a stop to such practices since April 2018, the report said. AGENCIES