Philippine casino operator Bloomberry Resorts is off the hook – for the moment, at least – for millions of dollars stolen from the central bank of Bangladesh and funnelled through the local gaming industry.
On Monday, Bloomberry filed papers with the Philippine Stock Exchange detailing a New York court’s dismissal of racketeering claims filed against the company by the Bangladesh Bank. The civil suit stemmed from the 2016 theft of $81m from accounts belonging to the bank held with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The heist, which US officials believe was carried out by agents acting on behalf of the North Korean regime, saw $81m taken from the Bangladesh account and transferred to several individuals in the Philippines. These individuals, some of whom had connections to local junket operators, appear to have laundered the money through casinos in Manila, including Bloomberrry’s Solaire Resort & Casino.
Bloomberry’s Monday filing said the US District Court for the Southern District of New York had granted a joint motion by Bloomberry, the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and several other local companies and individuals to dismiss the Bangladesh bank’s claims of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO) violations by the defendants.