Wynn Resorts said it is cooperating with the Macau government’s investigation of dealings surrounding the company’s purchase of the land for its planned Cotai resort.
English-language Macau Business Daily reported last month that the city’s Commission Against Corruption is investigating why Wynn was made to pay MOP400 million (US$50 million) for the land rights. Wynn bought the rights from certain mainlanders, though the Macau Land Public Works and Transport Bureau said it was not aware of their involvement, according to the Business Daily report.
In Macau all land is owned by the government, which leases rights to private parties.
The investigation follows a public records request submitted by the U.S.-based International Union of Operating Engineers to two government bodies in Macau asking for information regarding the commitment of land rights in Cotai to individuals from Beijing.
“We are working cooperatively” with the commission, Wynn told Bloomberg.
The anti-graft body declined to comment, Bloomberg said.
