Sands probe Singapore VIP gambling transfers; Adelson transfers $50m to Trump

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands has hired a law firm to probe cash transfers at its Singapore resort, while Sands boss Sheldon Adelson is once again making it rain for the former casino boss in the White House.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Marina Bay Sands (MBS) had hired law firm Davinder Singh Chambers LLC to conduct a fresh probe into employee transfers of over a billion dollars in gamblers’ cash to third parties. Sands reportedly hired the firm after Singapore authorities launched their own probe into alleged shenanigans at the integrated resort.

In June, Sands reached an out-of-court settlement with Wang Xi, a former MBS high-roller who sued Sands one year ago after casino staff transferred SG$9.1m (US$6.6m) of his funds to a third-party, allegedly without his authorization. The company claimed it had letters bearing Wang’s signature authorizing the transfers, while Wang claimed he’d never seen these letters.

Transfers of this nature are commonplace in Asia-Pacific casino markets, particularly when junket operators are involved. But Singapore keeps a much tighter rein on junkets than other local regulators, and Sands used to maintain that it doesn’t work with the few ‘international market agents’ approved by Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA).