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CCC weighs questioning IPI finances
The Commonwealth Casino Commission is looking at having the sole casino licensee certify that it is financially capable of completing the casino project.
In their monthly meeting last Wednesday, the CCC said it’s looking to review the financial capability of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC to continue their casino resort in Garapan.
However, the commission deferred acting on CCC order 2019-004, which seeks eight items of information that would prove that IPI has the financial capacity to complete the casino.
“There is no order. It’s a [proposal],” CCC executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero clarified. “That proposal was not entertained. But within that proposal, [IPI is required to report to CCC within] 90 days.”
The CCC deferred acting on the order, but did not kill it.
Deleon Guerrero did confirm that, within the order, the CCC would be seeking information on a reported $500-million loan IPI was able to secure from Japan. He noted that the order also clarifies if the loan would go to the construction of the casino or other financial obligations.
“We want to more about that and we want to make sure that that money, if available, will actually…be reserved and used for the [casino] and satisfy its other obligations,’ he said. “…This has a lot to do with basically meeting their financial obligations.”
Saipan Tribune learned Wednesday that there were several versions of the order, all of which were not acted on.
“We are tracking the financial position of this company, so if you see certain vendors are not being paid on time, certain license fees are [paid] late…we want some assurances that this company is financially suitable,” Deleon Guerrero said.
