Macau’s Commission Against Corruption said last week that a probe of Wynn Resorts’ Cotai land deal is ongoing, contravening statements by Chairman Steve Wynn that the investigation is over.
“The relevant investigation is still under way,” the commission told Bloomberg News, though it did not elaborate.
Earlier in the week, Wynn referred to the investigation as “totally mundane, irrelevant,” saying, “Everything about the transaction is so crystal clear and clean that you could drink it like a bottled water.”
The commission launched an investigation in July into a payment by Wynn Resorts of 400 million patacas (US$50 million) for the rights to the land for its Wynn Palace resort, which is now under construction on Cotai. The payment was made to entities whose rights to the land have been disputed.
Contacted by Bloomberg subsequent to the commission’s statement, Wynn maintained that “They’re satisfied with the inspection,” adding that he was not aware of further requests by Macau authorities for information from the company. Asked if the probe was over, he replied, “I think so.”
