Saipan casino regulators have publicly refuted recent media allegations of corruption, calling them “exaggerated, uncalled for and very unfair.”

On Thursday, gaming regulators in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) went public with their belief that they had been ill-treated by last week’s Bloomberg article alleging millions of dollars in sketchy payments to CNMI officials from Saipan’s lone casino operator, Imperial Pacific International Holdings (IPI).

IPI announced this week that it is suing Bloomberg for defamation. On Thursday, the Marianas Variety quoted Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) exec director Edward Deleon Guerrero saying the regulator was “looking at the article” and would “consult with our legal counsel” regarding the appropriate response.

The Marianas Variety also reported that the CCC held a meeting on Thursday at which chair Juan Sablan declared “no one here has received anything of value from IPI,” while urging the public to come forward with any evidence of regulatory malfeasance “as we don’t tolerate such actions.”