The Las Vegas Sands Corporation, an international gambling corporation, founded and controlled by billionaire Sheldon G. Adelson, admitted today, for the first time, that “there were likely violations of the books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA“, this according to the Macau Daily Times. 

Since 2004, the Sands Corporation has built two casinos in Macau, the Sands Macau and the Venetian, and has seen records profits thanks to its strategic location. Once a Portuguese colony and now a semi-autonomous archipelago on the Pearl River Delta, Macau is the only place on Mainland China where gambling is permitted.

However, according to the New York Times, the Sands came under federal scrutiny when Steven C. Jacobs, the Sands former president of operations in Macau, sued the corporation for wrongful termination. In his suit, Jacobs claimed that he was fired after refusing to give in to Adelson’s “illegal demands” that he secretly investigate Macau government officials so that they may use the information as “improper leverage”.

In addition, the Chinese gambling industry is riddled with corruption, as government officials control even the flow of visitors. One such official, Leonal Alves, was hired by the Sands as a legal adviser to assist the company in acquiring the necessary licenses, according to The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. However, Alves was paid $700,000 in legal fees over a four month period, which is far higher than what most legal firms charge.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which forbids the payment of bribes in any form to foreign officials, was signed into law in 1977. It was enacted following  an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which revealed that over 400 companies paid hundreds of million of US Dollars in bribes to foreign officials.

Mr. Adelson’s worth was estimated at $24.9 billion. During the recent presidential election in the US, he became the largest single donor in US history, spending upwards of $60 million on various republican candidates, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the eventual Republican presidential candidate W. Mitt Romney.

On her show, Maddow commented about Adelson’s motives for supporting the Republican Party, speculating that he was hoping to use his influence with the Romney Administration to undermine the Justice Department’s investigation.

Sheldon Adelson’s company ‘likely’ violated anti-bribery law is a post from: The Inquisitr

Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is vowing to “double” his donations to the GOP after a stunning loss in the 2012 election. Adelson spent about $150 million during the most recent elections, most of which was on Republicans who didn’t win.

Despite the massive amount of money he lost in the elections, the casino mogul has assured everyone that he is not discouraged, reports The Huffington Post. Adelson stated:

“I happen to be in a unique business where winning and losing is the basis of the entire business. So I don’t cry when I lose. There’s always a new hand coming up.”

Adelsons donations during the latest campaign season were twice what he spent in 2008, making his promise to double down on the next season’s donations believable. In his first extensive post election interview, the casino mogul asserted, “I’ll spend that much and more. Let’s cut any ambiguity.”

Politico notes that Sheldon Adelson did directly back one candidate who son 00 Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), though the eight others — including Mitt Romney — lost. Several GOP governors who are thought to be gearing up for a potential 2016 presidential run have stopped by Adelson’s Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas recently to visit with the man that could be a major campaign backer, should they gain his support.

Sheldon Adelson’s statements as of late have led several people to question his status as a Republican donor. In particular, he had an interview recently in which he claimed that he is essentially “a social liberal,” because he supports abortion rights and the Dream Act.

Do you think that Sheldon Adelson should double his donations to the GOP next campaign season?

Sheldon Adelson Vows To ‘Double’ Donations to GOP is a post from: The Inquisitr

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson used to be a staunch Democrat, but dropped nearly $50 million in support of various GOP tickets this election season. Why the sudden shift? According to Adelson, the Democratic Party moved too far away from his personal beliefs to justify his financial support.

On the eve of Election Day, the normally media-shy Adelson wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal explaining his shift in allegiances in a piece titled “I Didn’t Leave the Democrats. They Left Me.”

In it, Adelson denies any “conservative caricature” suggesting that his newly-found support for the GOP is due to his wealth or because he doesn’t want to pay taxes. In fact, Adelson clarifies that he disagrees with the GOP platform on “several social issues,” before getting to the meat of his reasoning.

At the heart of Adelson’s criticism for the Democratic Party is a perceived “new attitude toward Israel” that troubles him. He doesn’t name names, but says that “a visceral anti-Israel movement among rank-and-file Democrats, [is] a disturbing development that my parents’ generation would not have ignored.”

Furthermore, he cited what some called a “disturbing” scene at the Democratic National Convention during which the inclusion of God-related language and the naming of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in the platform incited booing from the crowd. “Anyone who witnessed the delegates’ angry screaming and fist-shaking could see that far more is going on in the Democratic Party than mere opposition to citing Jerusalem in their platform,” Adelson writes.

He also opines that in states like California, Illinois and New York, “liberal policies simply don’t deliver on their promises of social justice.”

Adleson concludes with his defense of the GOP:

“As a person who has been able to rise from poverty to affluence, and who has created jobs and work benefits for tens of thousands of families, I feel obligated to speak up and support the American ideals I grew up with—charity, self-reliance, accountability. These are the age-old virtues that help make our communities prosperous. Yet, sadly, the Democratic Party no longer seems to value them as it once did. That’s why I switched parties, and why I’m now giving amply to Republicans.”

Do you agree with Sheldon Adelson? Has the Democratic Party lost its way?

Sheldon Adelson Explains Why He’s Not A Democrat Anymore: ‘They Left Me’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sheldon Adelson, Republican mega-donor and Mitt Romney supporter, has filed a $60 million dollar lawsuit against the National Jewish Democratic Council for libel.  The lawsuit alleges that the NJDC “conveyed to the public that Mr. Adelson personally approved of and profited from prostitution” at his resorts.  Adcelson has become a billionaire building and owning casinos all around the world.

The suit, which was filed on Wednesday, claims the NJDC made “maliciously false and defamatory statements” in press releases and a petition drive referencing investigations and lawsuits filed against Adelson.

The suit goes on to state that the NJDC purposefully tried “to advance their perceived political interests by assassinating Mr. Adelson’s character, punishing him for exercising his right to make monetary contributions to political causes and candidates of his choice, and demeaning him within the Jewish community.”

The NJDC had conducted a campaign in July to try to convince Mitt Romney to give up the millions given to him by Adleson because it was tainted and dirty.  According to the suit the NJDC quoted a former disgruntled employee who said that Adelson approved of prostitution at his hotels.

Almost immediately the NJDC decided to cancel the campaign when it realized the charges against Adelson were false.

NJDC CEO David Harris and chairman Marc Stanley said in a joint statement,

“We don’t believe we engaged in character assassination; we stand by everything we said, which was sourced from current, credible news accounts,”

In response to the suit the NJDC said they were well within their rights to launch the campaign.  In a statement released to the press the group declared,

“We know that we were well within our rights. We will not be bullied into submission, and we will not be silenced by power. This is not Putin’s Russia, and in America, political speech regarding one of the most well-known public figures in our country is a fundamental right.”

The lawsuit alleges that the group went well over their Constitutional right to free speech and became malicious when they published demeaning and slanderous materials which they knew were false.

Republican Mega Donor Sheldon Adelson Sues Jewish Democratic Group For Libel is a post from: The Inquisitr

Adelson is not a shy about sharing his wealth with political candidates he feels should be elected to office. During the early months of the 2012 presidential primary Adelson donated $20 million to a super PAC which supported candidate Newt Gingrich. Even though the first big money donation was to Romney’s competitor, Adelson was “comfortable” with a Romney win as well, notes the Wall Street Journal.

While the casino billionaire may be considered part of the “1 percent” now, he has very humble roots. Adelson was a college dropout raised in a poor Boston neighborhood by immigrant parents before becoming the eighth-richest man in the world. The entrepreneur used funds he earned in the computer industry to restore the Sands Casino and then helped create a major convention area on the Las Vegas strip. Adelson also donates large sums to causes in Israel, medical research as well as a host of other charities.

President Barack Obama has held more than 160 fundraisers and will participate in a $40,000 per plate event at the Plaza Hotel in New York later this week.

Sheldon Adelson Donates $10 Million to Romney Campaign is a post from: The Inquisitr

When one single person says a political candidate has run out of chances during a campaign it’s hard to believe them until all of the votes have been counted and the election process is complete. When that person however is Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and he says Newt Gingrich is “at the end of his line” it is a little easier to take stock in what he says.

That’s become Sheldon Adelson nearly single-handily bankrolled Gingrich’s campaign through his “super PAC.”

Adelson was speaking to a group outside of his Venetian hotel and casino in Vegas this week when he criticized GOP front-runner Mitt Romney and his closest opponent Rick Santorum. At the same time Adelson admitted that his candidate of choice, Mr. Gingrich was likely not going to become the GOP nominee.

According to Sheldon:

“It appears as though he’s at the end of his – at the end of his line. Cause, I mean, mathematically, he can’t get anywhere near the numbers, and there’s not – unlikely there’ll be a brokered convention.”

When all is said and done the Adelson family has donated $16.5 million to the super PAC Winning Our Future, an organization that nearly financed the Newt Gingrich campaign on its own dime.  All together Winning Our Future has raised $18.8 million, only a fraction more than what the Adelson family put into the program.

While his own choice in a front runner may have faltered that hasn’t stopped Sheldon Adelson from attacking those who remain strong in the race including Rick Santorum for who he said:

“I know Rick; I like him. We’re friendly. But I got to tell you something, I don’t want him to run my country.”

While Adelson seemed peeved that Mitt Romney won’t support his own causes:

“He’s not the bold decision-maker like Newt Gingrich is. He doesn’t want to – every time I talk to him, he says, ‘Well, let me think about it.’”

Adelson also revealed that he spoke to both Gingrich and Romney about vice presidential nominee spots on each others campaigns to which he received the following response:

“Newt says, ‘Listen, I would do that except that every governor whose help you need to go through the election is hoping he’ll be the vice president pick. So if I go into the contest with a vice president already picked, they’re not going to help me.’”

Here’s the video of Sheldon Adelson talking with the Jewish Journal about the end of the line for Newt Gingrich:

It’s interesting to hear Adelson admit that he doesn’t fully agree with everything the Republican party has to say, while proclaiming that the decision makers we need in office simply aren’t available with Romney or Santorum as the GOP choice for President.

Sheldon Adelson Admits Newt Gingrich Is “At The End Of The Line” [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr