Guardian News & Media, publisher of The Guardian newspaper, has made a formal request to the judge in the wrongful termination suit against Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its chairman, Sheldon Adelson, to unseal reports that some say could confirm dealings with junket operators having ties to organized crime.
Known as the Vickers Reports, the studies were done on behalf of Sands China Ltd. by Steve Vickers, founder and CEO of Vickers & Associates Ltd., a firm specializing in risk mitigation. Vickers, a former senior superintendent of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, studied the backgrounds of Macau government officials, as well as two junket operators that had done business with Sands China alleged to have ties to the Chinese triads—Cheung Chi Tai and Heung Wah Keung.
The sealed reports were submitted by lawyers for Steven Jacobs to District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in the wrongful termination lawsuit Jacobs has filed against LVS and Adelson. Guardian has asked Gonzalez to unseal the reports, which may reveal the two businessmen’s ties to the triads and their relationship to Las Vegas Sands.
Adelson testified that he had never done business with Cheung, a contention that was contradicted in separate testimony from Rob Goldstein, his second in command, who testified that he had urged Adelson to cut ties with the businessman, who was involved in the junket business bringing high rollers to Macau, because of the organized crime allegations.
Meanwhile, it is not disputed that Heung had done junket business with LVS, including a $100,000 credit transfer he arranged from the Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip to Sands Macau. Heung has never denied that members of his family are involved in the Sun Yee On triad, but has never been convicted of any wrongdoing himself.
It is thought that the reports may reveal further damaging information about the relationship of Adelson’s company with junket operators having ties to the triads. The allegations could put LVS gaming licenses in jeopardy in the U.S. and elsewhere, not to mention having negative effects on Adelson’s role as a mega-donor to Republican politicians in the U.S.
