California cardroom pays $3.1m to settle AML case
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced the Los Angeles-based cardroom Hawaiian Gardens Casino has agreed a $3.1m (£2.4m/€2.8m) settlement with his office for misleading gambling regulators.
The venue was also found to have violated the Bank Secrecy Act, a federal law aimed to combatting money laundering.
In the settlement, Becerra (pictured) explained how the casino failed to disclose a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) investigation into its practices, and also attempted to deceive the California Department of Justice for a number of years.
California’s Gambling Control Act of 1998 states casinos must “make full and true disclosure” of any legal issues to regulators. However, according to the Attorney General, Hawaiian Gardens failed to report, reveal, or disclose to the Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC) certain information for a number of years.
Hawaiian Gardens did not state that FinCEN or another federal agency was examining the casino in relation to the Bank Secrecy Act, nor that the casino and FinCEN were involved in negotiations that could result in the casino’s admission of Bank Secrecy Act violations. Becerra noted the casino admitted to breaching the Act as part of the settlement agreement.
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Image: Gage Skidmore