Casino operator. On Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Sands had agreed to pay $6.96m to resolve the investigation into Sands’ violations of the FCPA ( Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ) in its business in China and Macau. The FCPA prohibits US companies from bribing foreign officials in order to win business concessions.
The payment is in addition to the $9m civil penalty Sands paid 07 April of 2016 to resolve a similar probe by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that determined the casino operator had little documentation to explain why it paid $62m to an Asian consultant. (READ SO EE. UU STARTS 2017 WITH A BLOW TO ILEGALITY)
The consultant reportedly acted as a ‘beard’ for Sands’ purchases of Chinese companies and property (including $6m for a basketball team that gambling companies were prohibited from owning) and which some Sands staff suspected were purchased “solely for political purposes.”
The DOJ said its probe determined that Sands paid the consultant around $5.8m between 2006 and 2009 that even Sands admitted had been issued “without any discernable legitimate business purpose.”
As part of a non-prosecution agreement, Sands also admitted that some of its executives “knowingly and willfully” failed to impose the necessary controls in its dealings with the consultant
