GOP’s Largest Campaign Contributor Admits To Bribing Foreign Officials

By Igor Volsky

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who spent as much as $150 million on independent expenditures to bolster Republicans in the 2012 election, has informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that his Las Vegas Sands Corporation “likely violated a federal law against bribing foreign officials.”

“(T)here were likely violations of the books and records and internal controls provisions” of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the company said in its annual regulatory report published on Friday. Late last year, Adelson reportedly held meetings with at least one House GOP leader to discuss “possible changes to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” arguing that he had been the target of federal investigations under the Act as retribution for his strong support for Republican candidates.

The Las Vegas Sands Corporation is suspected of improperly and in some cases illegally bribing Chinese government officials to expand its business in China. The company may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act with a $700,000 payment to a Chinese associate and worked with organized crime gangs to drive business from mainland China to their Macau casino.

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http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/03/03/1664321/gops-largest-campaign-contributor-admits-to-bribing-foreign-officials/