Chinese suspicion about Las Vegas Sands in Macau
News on 23 Jul 2015
News on 23 Jul 2015
The British newspaper The Guardian has published a report that presents information from a confidential private investigation claiming Chinese officials suspect that Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands casino in Macau is used by CIA and FBI agents to entrap and blackmail Chinese officials who visit Macau to gamble.
The report, commissioned in 2010 by Las Vegas Sands from a private investigation firm, is alleged to note:
“Many of the (Chinese) officials we contacted were of the view that US intelligence agencies are very active in Macao and that they have penetrated and utilised the US casinos to support their operations.
“A reliable source has reported that central Chinese government officials firmly believe that Sands has permitted CIA/FBI agents to operate from within its facilities. These agents apparently ‘monitor mainland government officials’ who gamble in the casinos.”
Apparently the report was commissioned on fears by Sands management that government officials were becoming increasingly hostile in their dealings with Sands.
The Guardian observes that the 2010 report was uncovered by the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California, Berkeley. It was among a collection of Sands documents filed with a Las Vegas court which is hearing a civil action brought by former Sands China executive Steven Jacobs for wrongful dismissal .
The court recently ruled against revealing confidential documents submitted as part of the case on the grounds that they contained commercially sensitive information.
