An independent audit under the Office of the Public Auditor has found out that a spouse of a Commonwealth Casino Commission board member entered into a lease deal for a warehouse with Saipan\u2019s exclusive casino licensee, Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC. <\/p>\n
The CCC management is unable to determine whether the lease agreement is of similar terms and conditions that would prevail in \u201carm\u2019s length transactions,\u201d said Deloitte & Touche LLC, referring to a business deal in which buyers and sellers act independently without one party influencing the other.<\/p>\n
Deloitte\u2019s audit did not name the board member and the spouse. It also did not specify whether he is a current or a former board member. <\/p>\n
OPA hired Deloitte to conduct the independent audit on CCC\u2019s internal control and on compliance for the year ended Sept. 30, 2018. <\/p>\n
As of press time yesterday, Saipan Tribune was still waiting for comments from IPI.<\/p>\n
Deloitte said the warehouse transaction may not be at arm\u2019s length, which is not compliant with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, as adequate evidence has not been provided. Deloitte recommends that CCC await the results of an investigation, if an investigation occurs.<\/p>\n
In CCC\u2019s response and corrective action plan, then-CCC acting executive director Charlie Atalig disclosed that CCC provided the Office of the Attorney General with information regarding the payments in question, and the proper investigative agency has been provided with enough information to begin an investigation.<\/p>\n
Deloitte considers the warehouse issue a \u201cmaterial weakness\u201d that it identified as a deficiency in CCC\u2019s internal control. The auditing firm defines deficiency in internal control as \u201cwhen the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deloitte also defines material weakness as \u201ca deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity\u2019s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected or corrected on a timely basis.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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