FILE - This Aug. 28, 2007, file photo shows the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau. Billionaire Sheldon Adelsonâs casino company is settling a long-running lawsuit with the former head of its Chinese arm. Sands China said Wednesday, June 1, 2016, that both sides âreached a comprehensive and confidential settlementâ with Steven Jacobs, the companyâs former CEO. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
The Associated Press
HONG KONG (AP) - Billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company is ending its long-running U.S. lawsuit with the former head of its Chinese division, the company said Wednesday.
Macau-based Sands China Ltd. said it has "reached a comprehensive and confidential settlement" with Steven Jacobs, the company's former CEO.
Jacobs launched a wrongful termination case in 2010, alleging that he was fired in order to cover up illegal activities committed by the company as it developed its lucrative business interests in Macau, a booming Chinese gambling enclave near Hong Kong.
Adelson's company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., owns 70 percent of Sands China, which operates four casinos in Macau, the world's top gambling market and the source of most of its revenue.
The brief announcement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange said Jacobs dismissed all claims in Nevada state and federal court against Las Vegas Sands, Sands China and its subsidiary Venetian Macau, and Adelson.
The announcement comes after Las Vegas Sands paid $9 million in April to settle a five-year-old investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over improperly documented payments to a consultant it hired in 2006 who claimed to be a former Chinese government official. Sands Corp. neither admitted nor denied the SEC's findings.
Jury selection for the Jacobs case had been set to begin June 27. It had been delayed by a dozen pre-trial issues, including the company's unsuccessful attempt last month to remove the Nevada state court judge presiding from the case, with its lawyers arguing that there was a conflict of interest.
FILE - In this May 5, 2015, file photo, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson testifies in court in Las Vegas. Billionaire Adelsonâs casino company is settling a long-running lawsuit with the former head of its Chinese arm. Sands China said Wednesday, June 1, 2016, that both sides âreached a comprehensive and confidential settlementâ with Steven Jacobs, the companyâs former CEO. Jacobsâ wrongful termination case against Adelson and Sands Chinaâs parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp., had threatened to air boardroom decisions about how the company developed its lucrative interests in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this May 4, 2015, file photo, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson speaks in Las Vegas. Billionaire Adelson's casino company is settling a long-running lawsuit with the former head of its Chinese arm. Sands China said Wednesday, June 1, 2016, that both sides âreached a comprehensive and confidential settlementâ with Steven Jacobs, the companyâs former CEO. Jacobsâ wrongful termination case against Adelson and Sands Chinaâs parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp., had threatened to air boardroom decisions about how the company developed its lucrative interests in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
The Associated Press