Gaming | Wynn Resorts investigated over money laundering

Steve Wynn

According to Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, Wynn Resorts Ltd. is under investigation by federal authorities regarding whether or not the casino operator broke money-laundering laws.
Those familiar with the matter said that prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s offices from Manhattan and Las Vegas, as well as investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and Drug Enforcement Administration, are coordinating the investigation of the Las Vegas-based company.
Wynn Resorts is the third Las Vegas casino company to be under investigation for possible breaches of money-laundering legislation.
Regulators have been concerned about vulnerabilities shown by casinos in preventing money-laundering activities.
“We are not aware of any criminal investigation of the company whatsoever and we have serious doubts that any such investigation is taking place,” Wynn’s senior vice president of marketing, Michael Weaver said, adding that no agency has notified the company that it is under investigation.
Wynn has not been accused of any wrongdoing so far.
A letter sent to the company’s outside lawyer Donald Campbell by the IRS criminal investigation division this summer requested Wynn provide information on its U.S. and foreign clients, as well as on its domestic and overseas marketing offices.
Mr Weaver said that, as a highly regulated business, they are in constant and direct communication with regulators and governmental agencies on a wide range of issues. “The fact that information is requested from us by a governmental agency in no way implies the accusation of any wrongdoing by the company,” he added.
The letter, reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, requested Wynn provide a list of its top clients between 2011 and 2013. It also requested a list of Wynn’s top 100 patrons from North America, and its top 50 from other regions, including Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
Investigators seek to know whether Wynn violated laws through its handling of sports-betting activities or through the casino’s connections with high-roller gamblers.
The U.S. government has pushed casino operators to step up efforts in identifying money-laundering risk.
Wynn’s operation in Macau has faced government scrutiny too, as the Commission Against Corruption said last summer that it was investigating a deal that allowed Wynn to acquire land where it is building its new casino-resort in the Cotai Strip.
In April 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice said it was investigating Wynn’s USD135 million donation to the University of Macau. Mr Weaver said that Wynn was exonerated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nevada Gaming Control Board on this matter. CP