$9,175,000 in fine, regulatory fee, and payment for a stipulated agreement. <\/p>\n
That is the total amount Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC directly owes the Commonwealth Casino Commission, according to CCC legal counsel Michael Ernest.<\/p>\n
That amount does not include the Community Benefit Fund nor the annual casino license fee, said Ernest, responding to a question Rep. Celina R. Babauta raised during the House Gaming Committee meeting last Thursday.<\/p>\n
Ernest said IPI\u2019s Community Benefit Fund money actually goes to various community entities\u2014as required by law\u2014and not to CCC. \u201cThat\u2019s not something that the CCC would get or oversee,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ernest said the $15.5 million annual license fee that IPI owes also does not go to CCC, but to the Commonwealth general fund.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s for you, honorable ladies and gentlemen, to divvy up as you see fit,\u201d he told the Gaming Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Edwin K. Propst (D-Saipan). <\/p>\n
Ernest said the only money that\u2019s directly owed to CCC right now that he is aware of is the $25,000 payment for stipulated agreement that was from 2019, the $3,150,000 regulatory fee required by law, and the $6 million fine that was imposed by CCC board\u2019s order 2021-002. <\/p>\n
Ernest said the $3 million regulatory fee and the $6 million penalty are subject to IPI\u2019s appeal right now before the Superior Court.<\/p>\n
He noted CCC executive director Andrew Yeom\u2019s statement that he is interested in getting IPI to become compliant and not to punish it. \u201cHe wants them to get into compliance and open the casino. And so that\u2019s been the genesis,\u201d the CCC counsel said.<\/p>\n
Ernest said the second point is that, right now, it\u2019s just an administrative action against IPI and there\u2019s no Superior Court judgment yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut mostly we\u2019re the government and we feel that money owed to the government generally have priority anyway. Anything that we would also take right now would also be taken from the security of public lands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ernest pointed out that the Department of Public Lands is the landowner for most of that IPI casino\/resort building in Garapan.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as a result, they have the first lien on the real property. And I don\u2019t believe the commission is willing to take money for itself that would ultimately end up going to the people, the true landowners, which is the people of the CNMI,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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