Las Vegas Sands’ Singapore casino under DOJ money laundering microscope

Las Vegas Sands’ Singapore casino Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is reporetedly being investigated by the US Department of Justice for potential violations of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that the DOJ had issued a grand jury subpoena in January to a former MBS compliance chief seeking information on “money laundering facilitation” and possible abuse of internal financial controls in the casino’s dealings with its VIP gamblers and junket operators.

MBS responded to Bloomberg’s inquiries saying it takes any suggestions of impropriety seriously and investigates all assertions of wrongdoing brought to its attention. The DOJ has neither confirmed nor denied the report and Bloomberg sources claimed that neither MBS nor its parent company had received any requests from the DOJ regarding this latest probe.

It’s unclear if the DOJ subpoena has any connection with a corruption case currently before the courts in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. Heru Hidayat, president of local shipping giant PT Trada Alam Minera, stands accused of pilfering state assets and laundering the cash through casinos in Macau, New Zealand and Singapore, including MBS and its local rival Resorts World Sentosa.