Supplier News
Saipan – Saipan Commonwealth Casino Commission defends Imperial Pacific
By Phil - 23 November 2016
Saipan Commonwealth Casino Commission Executive Director Edward Deleon Guerrero has defended the operational practice of Imperial Pacific saying that its subsidiary Best Sunshine Live is operating in compliance with U.S. Banking Secrecy and anti-money laundering laws.
Having posted its second highest rolling chip revenue ever, Imperial Pacific was the subject of a story by Bloomberg claiming the casino’s success was, ‘simply impossible if they are not inflated or facilitating money-laundering.’
The story outlined that one source ‘with knowledge of the matter’ said that the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network had ‘taken notice of the activity at Best Sunshine.’
Speaking to the local press, Saipan Commonwealth Casino Commission Director Guerrero said: “It is not as if they’ve done something wrong, Best Sunshine is submitting reports to FinCEN. It is an irrelevant issue if FinCEN is doing an investigation but you don’t need to be alarmed if you are complying. For Bloomberg to say something like they are under investigation is maybe a business way of addressing a competitor. FinCEN issues federal regulations under Title 31. And BSI also has its own regulatory oversight.”
He added: “If Best Sunshine Live inside a temporary casino inside a mall can outpace and outperform big name casinos is purely business. It is bad for competitors and it appears its business rivalry, since Saipan is a competitor. I can tell you the numbers are real. We are watching, documenting, and tracking it,” said the executive director.
Imperial Pacific stated that it had ‘implemented stringent internal control measures and has fully applied an anti-money laundering system to ensure compliance with all applicable US laws and regulations.’
The operator’s Chief Compliance Officer is Choi Fan Keung who has over 30 years of experience in compliance management and is the former Head of Compliance of HSBC Bank China.
Also on its board of directors are James Woolsey, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and former senior US military judge Eugene Sullivan along with Louis Freeh, former director of the FBI, and two former US Governors.
Best Sunshine has been operating its temporary casino in the shopping mall in Garapan since July 2015. It operates with 38 gaming tables. Construction of Imperial Pacific Resort is ‘progressing smoothly.’
