Lost in the wash
Lost in the wash
Missing financial reports land Station a $2.2 million fine
Las Vegas-based Station Casinos was fined a hefty $2.2 million by the Nevada Gaming Commission in September for it's failure to file federally required anti-money laundering reports.
The fine is the second largest in state history. "Clearly, $2.2 million is a very severe sanction, but also clearly there was a severe violation (of state gaming regulations), Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard was quoted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In the settlement agreement the commission approved, Station admitted failing to file 1,725 Regulation 6A documents to the Treasury Department's Financial Crime Network. The company also admitted to not filing two anti-terrorist suspicious activity reports, 58 race and sports book wagering reports and failing to log nearly 600 multiple transactions and retaining necessary records.
Cash transactions of over $3,000 are required to be tracked and reports to the Treasury must be made if individuals conduct more than $10,000 in transactions in a 24-hour duration.
Station CFO Glenn Christenson said steps have been taken to correct the problems and certain employees of the company have been disciplined or terminated since the irregularities were discovered 18 months ago.
It was Station that brought the problems to the attention of authorities.
The $2.2 million fine is just a portion of what the problems have cost the company. It spent $3.9 million to comply with state regulations and put systems in place to protect against additional violations. It will be spending another $1 million a year to monitor procedures, Christenson said.
"This is something we've been working on for over a year and a half, and it's important to get it behind us," Christenson said.
