By Ben Blaschke
Imperial Pacific Holdings Ltd (IPI) has strongly denied claims by local and international media that its Saipan offices were raided by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation late last week, threatening legal action against what it describes as an “unfounded report.”
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that agents had entered the Kase II building around 8:00 on Thursday before shutting down access and executing a search warrant on thesecond floor where IPI’s offices are located. MCC International and Bei Li Da, the construction firms contracted to build its US$600 million Imperial Pacific Resort, are also located on the second floor although local media reported that neither was under investigation.
In a statement filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday, IPI said, “The Board has also noted a Bloomberg article and certain media articles on 31 March, 2017. Having made all reasonable inquiries, the Board hereby clarifies and declares that neither the Group nor any of its staff has received any investigation notice from any of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation or government departments.
“The Board shall take formal legal actions against Bloomberg for its repeated unfounded report over the past year based on third party sources.”
The Marianas Variety newspaper had earlier reported that the raid was triggered by the recent death of a construction worker after falling from scaffolding on 22 March. FBI spokesman Michael Ernst told local media the FBI was, “not in a position to comment.”
The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Island Department of Labor is currently conducting its own investigation into the worker’s death, which has been classified as an accident.
IPI has come under growing scrutiny in recent months in regards to its huge revenues, which saw it report roll of US$32.4 billion in 2016 on just 16 VIP tables at its temporary Best Sunshine Live property – considerably more than any of Macau’s biggest resorts.
It has also faced challenges raising funds to complete its Imperial Pacific Resort via bond offerings, the first of which was put on hold in December. Nevertheless, the company announced on Friday that it had “opened for visiting” at 17:00 local time as per a filing earlier in the week in which it stated, “It is expected that the siteconstruction of the casino of the Imperial Pacific Resort will be completed on March 31, 2017 and will be opened to the public, while the hotel of the Imperial Pacific Resort will be opened in the second half of 2017.”
IPI also reported its 2016 financial results last week, with revenues soaring to US$964 million – a jump of almost US$872 million from US$18 million in 2015.
Imperial Pacific Resort will boast 193 gaming tables and 365 slot machines, “which will substantially increase the company’s gaming capacity from its current level of 48 tables and 141 slot machines at the temporary facility,” it said.
