CNMI Casino Contractor Filed $10M Lien Petition Against Hong Kong Based Imperial Pacific
Pacific Rim Land Development, a CNMI based casino contractor, has filed a petition of the lien against Imperial Pacific International hotel in the US District Court for the Northern Marianas. The casino contractor stated that Imperial Pacific owns it more than $5 million in a mechanic lien. The company also seeks a sum of $5 million to recover its damages in the matter.
Notably, the mechanic lien is the interest or sum of money that has to be paid to the firm that ensures the supply of labor or materials for renovation or repair of any property. Surprisingly, Imperial Pacific had earlier been summoned to testify before a grand jury regarding any illegal or shady transaction with the Northern Marianas Governor, Ralph Torres.
Before that, the CNMI had warned the Hong Kong-based company over late payment of license. As per reports, the casino operator had paid only one-third of the amount that was mentioned in the Agreement signed by it and the government in 2014. The unpaid amount staked approximately $10 million. Besides the license fee, the Imperial Pacific had to donate $20 million for the Community Benefit Fund, which also was due.
It seems that Imperial Pacific is a serial offender and is involved in illegal transactions at various levels. The casino agreement, signed by the firm worth $3.14 billion, states that Imperial Pacific will construct a total of 2229 hotel rooms and 17,000 square meters of the gaming floor. On top of that, it will construct the world’s largest water park on Saipan.
