CCC’s board chair\u00a0Edward DeLeon Guerrero has said the revocation of IPI’s licence will be one of the first issues to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Northern Mariana Islands.-\u00a0The Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC)<\/strong>\u00a0board chair\u00a0Edward DeLeon Guerrero\u00a0<\/strong>has said the regulator is waiting for the approval of Thomas A. Manglona<\/a> <\/strong>as a new member to go ahead with revocation proceedings against Imperial Pacific International (IPI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n A former port manager in Rota, Manglona <\/strong>was nominated to join the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) by governor Arnold I. Palacios<\/strong> a month ago. He will fill the seat vacated by Martin Mendiola, whose term ended on April 30<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Palacios has not yet put forward a nominee from Tinian, but Deleon Guerrero mentioned that three commissioners would be sufficient to form a quorum for the revocation hearing. The commission has a total of five seats but there are currently three members: Deleon Guerrero, vice chairman Ralph S. Demapan, and commissioner Mario Taitano, all from Saipan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deleon Guerrero has recused himself from proceedings to serve as an advocate for the petitioner, CCC executive director Andrew Yeom, <\/strong>who filed a complaint against IPI for its failure to pay the casino licence and regulatory fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During a monthly regular meeting in Gualo Rai on Thursday, Deleon Guerrero gave an update on IPI’s debt to the CNMI government. As of Thursday, he stated that the casino operator owes the CNMI\u00a0US$77.5m for Annual Licence Fees from August 2020 and US$17.6m for Casino Regulatory Fees from October 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Mariana’s Variety, Deleon Guerrero also mentioned that the CCC would also need to request the federal court to lift the automatic stay on the revocation hearing following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition<\/a> filed by IPI earlier this year. He noted that the automatic stay prevents CCC from proceeding with the revocation proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The committee of IPI’s unsecured creditors aims to engage Intrepid Investment Bankers to market IPI’s properties as a holistic business<\/strong> rather than real estate property to attract more potential buyers and potentially increase the sale price. The committee believes Intrepid may be able to identify potential buyers that the current limited marketing process has overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to The Saipan Tribune, creditors said that if the approach does not succeed, IPI can proceed with a real estate sale using the proposed real estate broker.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIPI creditors seek holistic approach to assets sale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n