Former Chinese gambler sues casino over $6.6 million in transfers

A Chinese former gambler at Marina Bay Sands Pte is suing the Singapore-based casino operator to recover SGD9.1 million ($6.6 million) he claims was transferred to other casino patrons without his authorization.

Wang Xi discovered in July that the money was missing as a result of 22 transfers allegedly made from his casino deposit accounts between October and December of 2015, according to a Sept. 26 statement of claim filed in the High Court in Singapore. Wang doesn’t know the people who allegedly received the money, the claim said.

Marina Bay Sands, owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp., is one of two firms granted exclusive licenses by the Singapore government to operate casinos on the island. Earlier this year, the government agreed to extend the licenses held by Genting Singapore Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands to 2030, in exchange for pledges to invest SGD9 billion into local tourism projects.

According to the suit, Marina Bay Sands told Wang it received authorization letters signed by him in Macau for the disputed transactions. Wang said his signature had been copied and pasted on to the authorization letters.

Marina Bay Sands told him the originals had been destroyed by the Singapore firm’s Macau affiliate for “reasons of confidentiality,” the lawsuit said.

The casino operator “failed to verify whether the Disputed Authorization Letters were in fact signed by the plaintiff before effecting the disputed transactions,” according to the lawsuit.

A representative for Marina Bay Sands declined to comment. Wang is represented by Paul Tan and Alessa Pang at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP. Both declined to comment.

The case is Wang Xi v. Marina Bay Sands Pte. Ltd., S967/2019, Singapore High Court. Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Bloomberg