HONG KONG: A former Macau business partner of Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVSC) has accused the casino operator of misappropriating trade secrets and is suing Sands for at least US$5 billion (RM16 billion) in profits that it says are owed via their joint ownership of copyright related to a casino licence bid.
Asian American, headed by Taiwanese businessman Marshall Hao, filed the complaint in United States District Court in Nevada last Wednesday. The case is in addition to two separate, ongoing legal actions in Macau over an alleged breach of contract.
Las Vegas Sands, run by chief executive Sheldon Adelson, and Asian American jointly submitted a bid for a gaming concession in 2002 in Macau, which has since become the world’s largest gambling hub.
But during the process, Sands switched partners, teaming up instead with Hong Kong group Galaxy Entertainment.
The Sands-Galaxy combination went on to win a licence in the former Portuguese colony over a decade ago, beating contenders that included MP Entertainment CoCo Ltd, MGM-Grand Macau Ltd, and Macau Star Ltd, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Genting Bhd.
Asian American alleges in its latest filing that after Sands terminated its joint venture, the company submitted a near-identical replica of its previous submission with new partner Galaxy.
Las Vegas Sands, in a statement last Friday, denied the claims.
“Using a different lawyer
every time, AAEC (Asian American) has repeatedly filed suits trying to take credit for that which they didn’t do,” Las Vegas Sands said. Reuters