The announcement by Las Vegas Sands Corp. in New York overnight that it was cooperating with investigations by the SEC and Department of Justice should concern investors. Not merely because there may be any substance to the allegations of FCPA infractions by former Sands China CEO Steve Jacobs, which the company admits it believes is the foundation of the investigations, but because the US government has finally decided to pay closer attention to what is going on in Macau.

We must be frank and say we thought the likelihood of Uncle Sam getting off his butt and trying to find out if he should be concerned about this dark corner of the planet was, until now, low to zero. No longer. The only question is whether these investigations will be a mile wide and an inch deep or the inverse. The company has been wise to take the initiative and announce the investigations to the public promptly, and spokesman Ron Reese is right to say that management will cooperate in what is clearly only at this stage “fact-finding enquiries”. Panic is not an option right now, especially when Sands China is performing so strongly and continues to occupy a dominant position in the world’s largest gaming market. We will just have to wait and see what happens next.

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