SEC : Las Vegas Sands To Pay $9 Mln Penalty For FCPA Violations

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) has agreed to pay a $9 million penalty to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or FCPA by failing to properly authorize or document millions of dollars in payments to a consultant facilitating business activities in China and Macao.

An SEC investigation found that LVS kept inaccurate books and records and frequently lacked supporting documentation or proper approvals for more than $62 million in payments to a consultant in Asia. The consultant acted as an intermediary to obscure the company's role in certain business transactions such as the purchases of a basketball team and a building in China, where casino gambling isn't permitted.

At one point, LVS could not account for more than $700,000 transferred to the consultant for team expenses, yet continued to transfer millions of dollars to him. A portion of the payments were improperly recorded in company books and records, such as money supposedly spent on artwork for the building when none was actually purchased.

In additional to the $9 million penalty, LVS agreed to retain an independent consultant for two years to review its FCPA-related internal controls, recordkeeping, and financial reporting policies and procedures and its ethics and compliance functions.

LVS consented to the SEC's order without admitting or denying the findings that it violated the books-and-records and internal controls provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.