…owner says unaware of money- laundering probe

MEMBERS of the Gaming Authority will today conduct a site visit at the Sleepin

International Hotel and Casino Inc. amid reports that the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) has launched an investigation into allegations that the business owner and his associates are involved in money laundering.

The visit by the Authority comes one day after the Guyana Chronicle reported on SOCU’s probe. However, proprietor Clifton Bacchus in a statement on his Facebook page, said he found the contents of the article ludicrous as neither he nor persons close to him were contacted by SOCU in relation to an investigation into his Church Street Hotel and Casino. “I read with absolute shock, the blazing and bold headlines in the Guyana Chronicle, Tuesday 15th, August 2017,” he stated.

Bacchus said “some highly-placed person in Government is executing an agenda of malice and vendetta against me with the intention of tarnishing my reputation, stigmatising my business and jeopardising my investments.”
In February, the Authority had rejected an application for licence to operate a casino submitted by Bacchus on the basis that there was no evidence that the business was financially sound. Bacchus has since submitted another application to the Authority and is in the process of providing additional information.

However, in a letter sent by the Authority’s chairman, Roysdale Forde, on July 10 to the Head of SOCU Sydney James, requesting information on Bacchus, the Authority called for the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to share information and documents between the two entities.

Forde said, “I would be grateful if you can share any information in relation to the aforesaid applicant that you may have in your presence as soon as possible.” On July 11, James in response to Forde’s letter said, “Kindly be informed that Mr Clifton Bacchus, the Sleepin International Hotel and Casino Inc. and a number of associates of Mr Clifton Bacchus are subjects of a money laundering investigation being conducted by SOCU, which is ongoing since July 2016.”

SOCU has since, through court orders, been able to source financial and other assets information pertinent to Bacchus and his business. However, a usually reliable source told this publication that a thorough investigation will be done before the Authority decides on whether Bacchus’ application for a Casino licence is rejected. The source made it clear that the outcome of the investigations will determine the action of the Gaming Authority.

The Authority is a statutory body established under the Gambling Prevention Act of Guyana and is vested with the power to regulate casino operations in the country. Bacchus had earlier this year denied that local politicians have a stake in his US$20M hospitality and gaming facility. His application for Casino licence was initially rejected by the Authority, but the Church Street facility has since been equipped with gaming machines and tables and he has also hired and trained staff.

In a Demerara Waves report earlier this year, Bacchus had assured that his investment was funded by financial institutions, his personal funds and Pasha Global Group, a Suriname-headquartered company that will be operating the Carnival Casino. In his statement on Tuesday, Bacchus reiterated that “It is public knowledge that Sleepin International Hotel and Casino Inc. has made an application to the Gaming Authority, under the law, for a casino licence.

That application is currently being processed.” The Authority he disclosed has requested some additional financial information and efforts are underway to provide the requested information.

“The documents which I have submitted to the Gaming Authority clearly establish the source of my financing: loans from local commercial banks secured by mortgages, along with monies from an overseas investor secured by loan agreements and mortgages.

These documents are all filed as of record with the Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority. Copies have been submitted to the Gaming Authority,” he said, adding that the very documents can be provided to SOCU if they so require them.