Dispute over unauthorized transactions
A lawsuit between a former customer and the Marina Bay Sands over non-authorized transactions from 2015 has now been settled, with the casino agreeing pay US$6.5m (S$9.1m).
the casino moved money to other gamblers from his account
Wang Xi filed the lawsuit last year, claiming that the casino moved money to other gamblers from his account. Mr. Wang said that he never gave the casino permission to make the transactions.
Signature “copied and pasted”
Documents showed that between October and December 2015, Wang had deposited US$6.5m (S$9.1m) into an account at Marina Bay Sands.
The money was then sent to other guests at the resort via 22 separate transfers. Wang has maintained that these transactions were unlawful, although no further information as to how much was sent to each person and who they were was made public.
the originals have since been shredded by the resort
While Marina Bay Sands provided evidence that the transfers had all been authorized via documents from Macau, Wang said that his signature had been copied and pasted. The originals have since been shredded by the resort for supposed confidentiality reasons.
Non-admission of liability
According to the lawsuit, the casino “failed to verify whether the Disputed Authorization Letters were, in fact, signed by the plaintiff before effecting the disputed transactions.”
While neither Wang nor Marina Bay Sands have commented on the case, a friend of Wang’s spoke to Bloomberg News, saying: “There is a non-admission of liability from both sides as part of the settlement.”
The friend also confirmed that Wang will still be able to frequent the casino, as long as he adheres to their internal policies.
Casino subject to investigations
Owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, Marina Bay Sands is a popular venue in Singapore. It is one of only two casinos that holds a license in the jurisdiction.
It is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice after it was found to have violated anti-money laundering regulations in its procedures with high rollers. In January, the DOJ reportedly issued a grand jury subpoena the casino’s former compliance chief.