In Macau, the Court of First Instance has reportedly dismissed the damages claim tied to a lawsuit brought by a former employee of the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) against local casino operator, Wynn Macau Limited.
According to a Monday report from GGRAsia citing an earlier story by Hoje Macau, Rogelio Yusi Bangsil had been seeking approximately $1.25 million in compensation over claims that the Hong Kong-listed casino firm had violated local personal data protection rules in surreptitiously revealing his identity in connection with corruption allegations.
Wynn Macau Limited, which is a subsidiary of American casino giant, Wynn Resorts Limited, was reportedly accused of releasing the Filipino’s name in 2011 following the completion of an in-house investigation conducted by a former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Louis Freeh. The examination had been initiated in order to discover if there had been any improper dealings between billionaire Kazuo Okada and officials at the state-owned PAGCOR in connection with the earlier building of the $2 billion Okada Manila integrated casino resort.
GGRAsia reported that Freeh had determined that Okada, who was at the time a majority stakeholder in Wynn Resorts Limited via his position as Chairman for Universal Entertainment Corporation, had tried to curry favor with PAGCOR officials in the three years from June of 2008 by handing out gifts and payments worth almost $109,000 to 17 individuals including Bangsil during various visits to the Wynn Macau.
Bangsil’s lawsuit contended that the leak had hurt his reputation and career while 2012 saw Wynn Macau Limited fined some $2,500 by Macau’s Office for Personal Data Protection for illegally transferring information outside of the former Portuguese enclave.
For his part, Okada has always denied any allegations of wrongdoing but reportedly lost his position on the board of Wynn Resorts Limited in 2012 after his shareholding was contentiously cancelled in return for a significantly-discounted promissory note. March saw the Las Vegas-based casino firm settle the matter via a $2.4 billion settlement, which the Japanese septuagenarian purportedly declared was proof of his personal ‘innocence.’