Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has allegedly breached anti-money laundering regulations at its casino and is facing an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bloomberg reported on June 4.

The way MBS handled the accounts of top gamblers at the casino will be scrutinised by U.S. officials, but the investigation is still in its early stages, according to unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

In January 2020, a grand jury subpoena had reportedly been issued to a former compliance chief at MBS.

The subpoena requested

• an interview or documents on "money laundering facilitation" and any abuse of internal financial controls or retaliation against whistleblowers
• for the former compliance chief to produce records related to such violations, including gambling junkets and third-party lending using the casino's credit
• for information on another former casino employee, who unnamed sources said carried out fund transfers to high rollers

Bloomberg reported that MBS said it has investigated all instances of wrongdoing brought to its attention and that it takes any suggestion of inappropriate activity seriously.

The US Attorney's office in Las Vegas was unable to confirm or deny ongoing investigations, Bloomberg said.

Past activities under spotlight

MBS is one of the most profitable casinos in the world.

Currently, Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority is also investigating MBS for its money transfer policies, Bloomberg added.

The casino’s money transfer practices made the news in 2019.

A person name Wang Xi filed a lawsuit against MBS as he is seeking to recover S$9.1 million.

He said the money was sent to other casino patrons in 2015 without his approval.

The Singapore Police Force is investigating the case, and MBS has declined to comment on it, Bloomberg reported.

Las Vegas Sands activities also highlighted

MBS is part of American billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

The U.S. Justice Department in the past has looked into Las Vegas Sands' activities, Bloomberg reported.

Las Vegas Sands ended up paying millions to end resolve investigations.

It paid US$47.4 million (S$66 million) in 2013 to end an investigation into its failure to report suspicious deposits.

In 2017, it paid US$6.96 million to resolve a probe into alleged violations of U.S. law in connection with bribes paid to China and Macau government officials.

Top photo via Unsplash