Hearing on IPI’s potential casino license revocation set to later date

A new date has been scheduled for a hearing on the potential revocation of Imperial Pacific International’s (IPI) exclusive casino license by the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) in the Northern Mariana Islands.

The hearing will now take place on February 20 after first being set on January 31 and then being rescheduled for February 12.

The subject of this hearing is IPI’s incapacity to pay the CNMI government’s financial obligations, namely the US$3.15, million in annual regulatory fees for 2020–2023, and the US$15.5 million annual casino license charge. With the remaining amounts equivalent to US$62 million and US$17.6 million, respectively, the total debt owed to CNMI is now US$79.63 million.

Rafael S. Demapan, the vice chairman of the commission, will chair the hearing, which will look into complaints Nos. 2021-002 and 2021-003. Demapan’s most recent ruling granted an amended second joint motion to reschedule the scheduled enforcement hearing, citing ongoing settlement negotiations between the parties as the reason for the delay.

Executive director of CCC Andrew Yeom has expressed optimism about the state of settlement talks, indicating that efforts are being made to reach a mutually agreeable resolution with the assistance of legal counsel.

Original story by: Focus Asia Pacific