Manuel Joaquim das Neves, the former director of the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), who was also one of the Macau Gaming Commission members responsible for selecting tenderers for the city’s gaming concessions 20 years ago, took the witness stand at a USD 12 billion court case against Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) yesterday afternoon.
The case entered its second day of hearings in the Court of First Instance (TJB) on June 17.
Asian American Entertainment Corp Ltd filed the lawsuit against LVS, accusing the company of violating the contract for a casino license in Macau in the period from 2001-2002.
On the first day of hearing on June 16, LVS’ legal team claimed that the link between the two firms ended as early as January 15, 2002, supporting its argument with a letter sent to the then Chief Executive of Macau, Edmund Ho Hau Wah.
In yesterday’s afternoon session, lawyers representing both parties continuously wrangled over the exact date when the partnership concluded.
Jorge Menezes, the plaintiff’s lawyer, presented a letter delivered on February 1, 2002, by the Venetian Venture Development LLC to the Macau Gaming Commission as an exhibit. The letter was an announcement made by the company to inform the Commission’s members about the termination of its ties with Asian American.
Menezes went on to seek clarification about the letter from das Neves, who answered that he could not remember the details and date of a letter he received almost two decades ago.
Menezes also questioned das Neves as to whether he recalled the representatives of the Asian American and LVS attending the second consultation meeting convened by the Commission, possibly during the period from January 15-19 in 2002, taking place after January 15, the date alleged by defendant’s legal team to be the termination of the partnership .
Das Neves said that he recalled the meeting, but could not remember who attended and who did not.
Das Neves also pointed out that he did not serve as a legal expert on the Commission; the legal adviser to the Commission would be more familiar with these exhibits, he added.
“I do not remember the details and texts decades ago. But what I remember is that the Commission was trying its best to determine the winning bidders in the fairest and most objective way,” das Neves told the court.
On the other hand, Luís Cavaleiro de Ferreira, the lawyer defending LVS, also presented and verified several documents as exhibits with das Neves, trying to prove that the ties ended on January 15.
In addition, de Ferreira made an application to the judge at the beginning of yesterday’s hearing to add several more items of evidence, as part of considering factors in this case. This request was strongly opposed by Menezes, arguing that de Ferreira’s request was not made in due course and should not be considered.
Menezes also stressed that these items are corroborative facts but not the essential factors of consideration in the case, adding that the case would be prolonged indefinitely if Ferreira’s application were approved. The judge later rejected Ferreira’s request.
According to a previous report published by Reuters, Sands and Asian American co-tendered for the city’s gaming concession in 2001. However, Sands abandoned Asian American at the end and partnered with Hong Kong group Galaxy Entertainment instead. Eventually, the Sands-Galaxy joint venture secured a gaming license.
Asian American, led by Taiwanese mogul Marshall Hao, is seeking damages of approximately 70% of Sands Macau’s profits from 2004 to 2022 — which, Reuters gauged, will add up to around USD12 billion.
The legal dispute between Asian American and LVS has been fought since 2007, when the lawsuit against LVS was first filed in the U.S. It was initially dismissed for exceeding the statute of limitations and other procedural reasons.
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