Las Vegas Sands Corp.(LVS) has agreed to pay a US$2 million(MOP16 million) fine for alleged violations of the Nevada Gaming Control Act and Regulations of the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC), according to a Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) release. The gaming authority filed a complaint against Las Vegas Sands Corp., Las Vegas Sands, LLC and The Venetian Casino Resort LLC, alleging ‘violations of the Nevada Gaming Control Act and Regulations of the Nevada Gaming Commission. The NGCB also entered into a ‘Stipulation for Settlement and Order’ with the respondents (LVS and previously mentioned LLCs) in which Las Vegas Sands Corp. neither ‘admit nor deny the allegations set forth in the complaint and agree to pay a fine in the amount of US$2 million’. The release notes that the allegations revolve around a previously announced settlement Las Vegas Corp. reached with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 7, agreeing to pay a US$9 million penalty to settle charges for violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by failing to properly authorise or document millions of dollars in payments to a consultant facilitating business activities in China and Macau, as reported by Business Daily. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it illegal for U.S.-based companies and their executives to attempt to influence foreign government officials with personal payments, and in the April 7 SEC litigation it stated that the casino operator run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson violated the internal controls and books and records provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by transferring US$62 million between 2006 and 2011 to a consultant, in circumstances that frequently lacked supporting documentation or appropriate authorisation, Business Daily reported.
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