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US – Caesars fined for potential money laundering violations

By Phil - 9 September 2015

Caesars Palace in Las Vegas has been fined a US$9.5m civil penalty by federal and state regulators for having ‘severely deficient’ anti-money-laundering controls in place in its VIP rooms, which are used mainly by Chinese VIP players.

The Las Vegas giant conceded it had allowed wealthy VIP customers to gamble anonymously within private rooms in Caesars Palace. It was also not strict enough in detailing transactions at international marketing offices that brought in the players, including in Hong Kong.

The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN said: “Caesars allowed a blind spot to exist in its compliance program; private gaming salons, enabling some of the most lucrative, and riskiest, financial transactions to avoid the scrutiny of Caesars’ compliance program. Caesars knew its customers well enough to entice them to cross the world to gamble and to cater to their every need. But, when it came to watching out for illicit activity, it allowed a blind spot in its compliance program. Every business wants to impress its customers, but that cannot come at the risk of introducing illicit money into the US financial system.”

During 2012, Caesars opted not to detail over 100 reports of irregular financial activities , including a $50,000 cash deposit placed in its Hong Kong bank account, which should have been flagged as suspicious.

Whilst there is no proof that money laundering took place, the Treasury Department explained that the lack of detail ‘exposed the casino and the US financial system to illicit activity.’
Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett added that the Board will also fine Caesars to the tune of $1.5m.

“Caesars has been very cooperative,” Mr. Burnett said.

Caesars said it has since improved its ‘methods to prevent and detect money laundering and is ‘committed to fully complying with the rules.’