U.S. gambling giant fined for money laundering deficiencies
News on 9 Sep 2015
News on 9 Sep 2015
On the heels of reports from the UK that the Rank Group has had to give up profits made during a period of ineffective anti-money laundering systems (see previous reports) comes news of similar punitive action against a US casino group.
Reports in the US media claim that Caesars Entertainment has had to cough up $9.5 million in penalties for flaws in the AML processes in its Caesars Palace VIP private high roller rooms…a favourite for well-heeled Chinese punters, who could remain anonymous due to the system deficiencies.
The federal U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and Caesars worked out an $8 million deal on the penalty for its repeated violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act, and agreed on a series of remedial moves the company must take.
These include better staff training, regular independent external audits and practical tests of its AML systems, reportage to FinCEN on the changes and a retrospective review of past transactions.
A further $1.5 penalty civil penalty was added by the Nevada regulator for breaches of state laws.
In a statement on the issue, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network commented:
“Despite the elevated money laundering risks present in these salons, Caesars failed to impose appropriate AML scrutiny, which allowed some of the most lucrative and riskiest financial transactions to go unreported. Caesars also marketed these salons through branch offices in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in Asia, but failed to adequately monitor transactions, such as large wire transfers, conducted through these offices for suspicious activity.”
