One of the leading investment banks in Asia has warned the Marina Bay Sands venue in Singapore that its recently-launched investigation may cost the facility a massive share of the VIP casino gambling market. The investigation was launched in order to determine whether the iconic gambling-friendly venue may have breached some of the mandatory anti-money laundering efforts and procedures.
According to one report released by Inside Asian Gaming, the investment bank which launched its investigation on Marina Bay Sands is Maybank Investment Bank Berhad based in Malaysia. The latest reports on the matter suggest that the inquiry started by the US Department of Justice into potentially breached anti-money laundering protocols at Marina Bay Sands may prompt many VIP high-rollers to start spending their money at the venue’s biggest competitor, the Resorts World Sentosa facility which is located nearby.
Marina Bay Sands Opened in 2010
The Marina Bay Sands facility owned and operated by Las Vegas Sands opened its doors to the public on the 27th of April in 2010. The official opening took place on the 23rd of June that same year while the grand opening ceremony took place on the 17th of February 2011. Located in Downtown Core, Singapore, Marina Bay Sands is one of the most expensive, most luxurious integrated resorts of this kind in the world.
With a total value of over 5 Billion USD and a massive complex with more than two thousand rooms and a huge casino floor with over a thousand slot machines and hundreds of tables, Marina Bay Sands is one of the largest and most valuable casino properties in the world.
The Marina Bay Sands resort also features two Crystal Pavilions, a massive infinity swimming pool, and many signature attractions including the Sands SkyPark, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, The Sands Expo and Convention, Bay Flora, Marina Bay Club, Marina Bay Sands Art Path, Art Science Museum, and Wonder Full among others.
Federal Investigation and Money Laundering Facilitation
Details about the federal investigation emerged via a report released by the Bloomberg news outlet. The report was released after a former compliance chef for Marina Bay Sands was requested by a grand jury to hand over all documentation related to possible money laundering facilitation and possible breaching of money-laundering protocols and financial controls.
The iconic Marina Bay Sands facility has held over fifty percent of the entire VIP casino gaming market in the country since 2018. Last year, the venue has enjoyed an even bigger fifty-seven percent share. Nonetheless, its VIP gaming business is at great risk following the federal investigation into possible breaches of its money-laundering protocols and practices.
Samuel Yin Shao Yang working for Maybank Investment Bank Berhad told several local news outlets that the venue’s VIP business has already been significantly damaged ten years ago after a similar investigation was conducted by officials in the USA. This investigation in particular was launched after Sands China Limited’s former Chief Executive Officer Steven Jacobs a lawsuit against the company. At the time, the property’s high-roller share of the high-roller market in Singapore went down to around thirty-three percent.
