Imperial Pacific appeals gaming licence suspension
Imperial Pacific International’s licence was suspended by the Commonwealth Casino Commission in April after the company admitted violating five regulatory orders.
Northern Mariana Islands.- Imperial Pacific International’s (IPI) has appealed against the decision of the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) to order the indefinite suspension of its gaming licence.
Juan T. Lizama, IPI’s lawyer, filed the appeal, and the CCC commissioners has agreed to make a technical amendment to the order.
According to Saipan Tribune newspaper, assistant attorney general Michael Ernest, counsel for CCC executive director Andrew Yeom, reported a technical error in the CCC board’s order against IPI. Ernest asked the board to reconsider the final order in order to correct the error.
The Commonwealth Casino Commission board has also ordered IPI to pay a penalty of US$6.6m, an annual casino exclusive licence fee of US$15.5m and annual casino regulatory fees of US$3.1m.
Ernest said the case is now with the Superior Court. He added that the commission probably does not have jurisdiction to further amend the order.
He said: “I believe there may be a motion that we can file in the Superior Court to allow it to send it back down just for the technical correction.”
According to the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC), Imperial Pacific International violated five orders including a failure to pay its US$3.1m annual regulatory fee in 2020 and failure to comply with an order to settle debts with vendors.
