Card Player – Las Vegas Sands Corp., one of the largest casino developers in the world, has agreed to pay the United States government a sum of more than $47 million to end a money-laundering investigation, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal.
Sands will avoid criminal prosecution thanks to the settlement, but will not contest the Department of Justice’s claim that it made errors by failing to report “suspicious activity” by one of its high-rollers, the WSJ reported.
The gambler in question is an alleged drug kingpin. According to the government, the gambler wire transferred around $45 million and used cashier’s checks valued at about $13 million. These suspicious transactions and other activity reportedly happened between 2006 and 2007.
“All companies, especially casinos, are now on notice that America’s anti-money laundering laws apply to all people and every corporation, even if that company risks losing its most profitable customer,” said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. in a statement Tuesday.
“The company cooperated fully in the investigation, and that effort was recognized clearly by the government,” a spokesperson for the company told the WSJ.
As part of the agreement, the company must review its anti-money laundering tactics.
Sands is owned by billionaire casino boss Sheldon Adelson.
