IPI owes over US$55.4m in fees to CCC
CCC chair Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero says IPI has failed to pay its licence fee regulatory fee since 2020.
Northern Mariana Islands.- The Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero has said that Imperial Pacific International (IPI) now owes over US$55.4m in unpaid licence and regulatory fees. It has not paid its fees since 2020 due to the pandemic.
Guerrero said IPI owes the CCC more than US$46m in accrued US$15.5m annual license fees and US$9.4m for its US$3.1m annual regulatory fee.
In January, the CCC suspended its regulatory operations due to a lack of funding due to IPI’s failure to pay its licence fees. At the CCC’s regular monthly meeting, Guerrero said the regulator’s bank account contains a very small amount. He told the Saipan Tribune: “As of now, we don’t have any. We are out, that’s why all the staff have been released.”
Guerrero expressed concern over the termination of CCC employees with no financial assistance available for them to recover. He called for policymakers to examine IPI’s casino monopoly.
