Billionaire and casino owner Sheldon Adelson testified in court on Friday, as former CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. subsidiary Sands China had accused the gambling operator of being involved in illegal activities.
Steven Jacobs, former CEO of Sands China, claimed that he was wrongfully fired back in 2010, due to the fact that he objected to payments to a high-standing Macau official, as those might have been considered violation of the US anti-bribery laws.
Furthermore, the former executive suggested that Mr. Adelson’s company was related to the triads, one of the many branches of Chinese organized crime.
The owner of Las Vegas Sands said on Friday that Mr. Jacobs’ claims were groundless and accused him of tarnishing the reputation of the gambling company by placing wrongful accusations in media.
It seems, however, that Mr. Adelson was not willing to reveal more information about the activities of the casino operator, as he gave evasive answers to James Pisanelli, the lawyer who represented Mr. Jacobs in court. At some point, the casino mogul was even warned by Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez that he could not argue with her, after he did not acknowledge the ownership of a certain email, which was presumably signed by him.
Mr. Adelson also refused to reveal where he was at the time when Las Vegas Sands announced the termination of Mr. Jacobs’ contract. His exact location is important, as the former Sands China CEO and his lawyers argued that the lawsuit should be processed in a Clark County court. Currently, the case is viewed in Nevada.
The Friday hearing was the second one that Mr. Adelson attended this week. Furthermore, Robert Goldstein, President and COO of Las Vegas Sands, took the stand on Thursday and admitted that Sands China had once had business relations with Cheung Chi Tai, who was presumed to be the leader of a triad gang.
According to Mr. Goldstein, Mr. Cheung managed a junket operator that brought VIP players from Mainland China to Sands’ Macau-based casinos. In exchange for this, he was paid a large portion of the revenue generated by the gambling venues in question. After a report compiled by Reuters, which suggested that Mr. Cheung was indeed the leader of a triad gang, Sands China terminated its relations with him.
Mr. Goldstein also revealed information about a system that Las Vegas Sands and its Macau subsidiary used to run where customers were allowed to use money paid in one casino in order to gamble in another, no matter whether it is located in the same country. The gambling operator, however, ended this practice in 2013.
Mr. Adelson is to return to court on Monday, May 4.
