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Possible penalties vs IPI weighed
Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC may have already paid in full its annual casino license renewal fee of $15 million, but the Commonwealth Casino Commission is reviewing the possible penalties that could be imposed on IPI for its delayed payment.
IPI did pay but did so in two tranches. The full payment was due on Aug. 12, 2019, and IPI only managed to pay $5.5 million. It was then given 15 days to settle its obligation and IPI managed to make a $10.5 million payment last Tuesday—the last day that was given to it to pay up.
The commission did inform IPI of its deficiency, said CCC executive director Edward Deleon Guerrero in an interview yesterday. “The complaint [notes] that [IPI] must cure [the violation]. One of the main [ways to cure the violation] was to pay—and they did that,” he said. “The next [aspect of the complaint] are the sanctions involved with not paying on time.”
According to the Casino License Agreement, which the CCC enforces on IPI, any delayed, partial, or the non-payment of “…any amount due and payable” constitutes a breach.
A breach in the CLA can result in the casino license being suspended or even revoked.
Had IPI not paid its annual obligation within the given time of 15 days, they ran the risk of having their license suspended, Deleon Guerrero said. He added that the CCC complaint had noted that, if IPI does not settle its obligation within 15 days, a hearing will be held to look at a possible suspension of its license.
With the settlement of the obligation, the commission continues to review their regulations for possible penalties that could be imposed on IPI, the most stringent of which is a maximum monetary fine of up to $50,000, Deleon Guerrero said.
“We are looking at CCC regulations for their late payment. We have a sanction of up to no more than $50,000 per violation,” he said. “We are going to count starting Aug. 13, 2019,” referring to the amount of time the casino licensee was late in paying.
“The warning was sent out on Aug. 19, 2019, because we had to do our own due diligence,” Deleon Guerrero added.
