Saipan casino commission chief: Tinian Dynasty case is ‘serious’

The decision of the U.S. Department of the Treasury to impose a massive $75 million penalty against Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino will have a huge impact on its workers and the company itself.

According to Commonwealth Casino Commission chair Juan Sablan the case is “serious” and will impact hundreds.

He added that “$75 million is huge” and that closure of the Tinian casino could be possible.

Sablan declined to provide further comments, saying the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission is not under the jurisdiction of Sablan’s commission.

Unlike the exclusive casino license on Saipan, the casino industry on Tinian was approved via an “initiative” in which the people themselves voted in its favor.

As of Friday, Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission chair Lucia Blanco-Maratita was reportedly on leave and was unable to give a comment on the case.

The commissioners were also not available for an interview over the phone on Friday, a staff of the commission told Saipan Tribune.

Several online comments on Saipan Tribune’s story titled “Treasure fines Dynasty $75M” raised questions over what the Tinian casino commissioners have been doing all this time and why they failed to properly monitor and regulate Tinian Dynasty.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, commonly known as FinCEN, assessed the civil penalty of $75 million against the owner of Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino for “willful and egregious violations” of the Bank Secrecy Act.

FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery determined that Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investments, owner of Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino, failed to develop and implement an anti-money laundering program to ensure ongoing compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act.

When asked to comment, Tinian Dynasty general manager Christopher Bishop told Saipan Tribune that he learned about it only on Thursday morning and that they have no comment. Bishop said he already discussed the matter with their counsel, Bruce Berline.

Hong Kong Entertainment is facing criminal charges on the same issue. Bishop also refused to comment when asked how the $75 million fine will affect the trial.

In a statement, Calvery said that Tinian Dynasty didn’t just fail to file a few reports but the casino operated for years without an anti-money laundering program in place.

Calvery said Tinian Dynasty failed to file thousands of currency transaction reports, or CTRs, and its management willfully facilitated suspicious transactions and even provided helpful hints for skirting and avoiding the laws in the U.S. and overseas.