Commonwealth Casino Commission chair Edward Deleon Guerrero is floating the idea of holding a public hearing to determine and lay bare Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC\u2019s \u201cfinancial suitability\u201d to continue the construction and operation of the casino\/resort facility in Garapan, among other projects. <\/p>\n
Speaking at the CCC board\u2019s monthly meeting last week, Deleon Guerrero said they will ask the company to prove that it has the money to continue with its projects in the CNMI. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you do have the money, it becomes clear that you are financially suitable and you\u2019re entitled to hold on to the [ casino] license,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Citing previous actions that the CCC has taken against IPI, he said they required IPI to pay its vendors who have uncontested claims in 90 days, that they asked IPI to appoint a chief executive officer who is empowered with the ability to handle finances and construction and that the CEO should not be \u201ckept in the dark.\u201d Deleon Guerrero said they also asked IPI to create a reserve payroll. \u201cAgain, that cannot be ignored,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deleon Guerrero said if the IPI board in Hong Kong does not know or is not aware that they\u2019re looking at setting a public hearing, this proceeding may potentially result in regulatory suspension of IPI\u2019s license. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big difference between suspension because of COVID-19 versus suspension because you violated the regulatory regulation,\u201d he pointed out. <\/p>\n
The big difference, Deleon Guerrero said, is that the IPI board knows that the next phase behind a suspension is that, if they don\u2019t correct the deficiency, there is no other choice but revocation of the license. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if you can manage to convince the Hong Kong group to understand that,\u201d the chairman told IPI officials who attended the meeting. <\/p>\n
Deleon Guerrero said IPI is maybe running out of time if they don\u2019t honor those financial obligations. <\/p>\n
IPI has failed to pay, among other things, $15.5 million in annual casino license fee that was due last Aug. 12 and $3 million in regulatory fee that was due last Oct. 1. <\/p>\n
He emphasized that they are according IPI due process and that they are making sure, as part of their regulatory function, that IPI, the casino licensee, is financially suitable. \u201cWe have an obligation to make sure that we monitor and then you maintain financial stability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The chairman said they had asked the Office of the Attorney General to come up with a clear definition of what is \u201cfinancial stability\u201d and that the OAG came down to the use of the Nevada model of solvency plus one, which means that \u201cyou must be paying your debt as they become due,\u201d among other factors that define suitability. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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