Sands pays fine and ends investigation

Las Vegas Sands Corp. has paid US$6.95 million following an investigation by the DOJ.

US.- Las Vegas Sands Corp. has pleaded guilty and paid a fine of US$6.95 million due to US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation on the casino company’s financial books. The leading gaming brand failed to clarify the transactions made to China’s consultants in relation to Sands properties in the Asian country.

Las Vegas Sands books have been probed by the DOJ under an investigation for allegedly violating a federal anti-bribery law, following the improper “Internal accounting controls,” referred to those payments made in China and in Macau. The reason why the transactions were made has not been revealed.

According to the investigation, during Las Vegas Sands Corps’ activities from 2006 to 2009 several payments of US$5.8 million in fee were set to Chinese consultants, although operators were not able to explain them under “any discernible legitimate business purpose.”

The company has ended the relationships with the consultants and has compromised to a “non-prosecution agreement” with the Department of Justice. Furthermore, the casino managers have agreed on reviewing the accounting and auditing reports.