
A Chinese Casino company has set out to take over the U.S. island of Saipan - bryanrasmussen
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-15/a-chinese-company-has-conquered-a-piece-of-america
======
XR0CSWV3h3kZWg
> Torres’s office said that all changes to laws or policies were undertaken
> “with the intent of achieving economic growth within the boundaries of the
> law.”

That's a great line. Of course they are changing the law to remain within the
boundaries of the law.

~~~
tlb
States and territories still have to follow federal law and their own
constitution, so it's valid to talk about modifying [state] laws within the
boundaries of [federal] law.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
Ya, but the FBI is really dropping the ball here.

------
metaphor
Glad to see Ed Propst in legislature with a bullshit flag raised over this
madness. Saipan's post-Fitial government apparently still reeks of nepotism
and corruption, and it's going to take a proverbial shit-ton of Ed and
community leaders alike who exemplify genuine selflessness to get that busted
rock where it ethically needs to be.

True story: Once upon a time, Ed was a public high school senior English
teacher who acknowledged an academically troubled yet "out of place" student
by allowing independent calculus study while others were lectured...of course,
_iff_ all other assignments were satisfactorily completed ahead of time.
Needless to say, the gesture left a meaningful impression, and--to this day--
remains the sole high school teacher whose name wasn't forgotten.

------
oh_sigh
I lived in Saipan for 3 years (2006-2009). Literally nothing goes on there -
an extremely boring, run down place. No way this casino is generating any kind
of real earnings. Locals don't have enough money to gamble, and total visitors
to all of NMI(which also includes other islands like Tinian and Rota) per year
is 500k - twice that many people visit Las Vegas every week.

~~~
emmelaich
The money might be actually be earned elsewhere, but declared to be earned
here to avoid Chinese scrutiny / reporting / tax laws.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
It is obvious from the article that this is merely a money laundering
operation. The feds don't care because it is Chinese money being laundered
into the USA and out. The Chinese don't care because it is the people in power
(or close to people in power) whose money is usually being laundered.

------
HillaryBriss
My guess is that this is not truly about "corruption" and that the US
government is mostly happy about this arrangement.

Consider these possible upsides from the US perspective:

* The US can use the whole operation as a bargaining chip with China's governing party, which probably finds the operation irritating, given their policy of currency controls.

* US intelligence gatherers may be able to glean some info about who the wealthy are in China and what they want to do with their money.

* US intelligence gatherers may be able to strike up useful relationships with certain wealthy/elite/influential people in China.

* The operation itself may well be helping to pay the US costs for occupying such a remote island.

~~~
gwern
Also the trade deficit issue. If China's ultra-rich are exporting billions of
dollars of capital a year out of China, then it helps balance the trade
deficit and means more capital in the rest of the world and probably mostly
the USA.

~~~
jordanb
It doesn't balance the trade deficit at all. It does improve the current
account balance but that's not necessarily a good thing for US exports.

------
XR0CSWV3h3kZWg
Junklets as a means to convert a large amount of Yuan to USD just begs the
question: How do Junklets convert the large amount of Yuan they pull to the
USD they give as credit to their big spenders?

~~~
boomboomsubban
The credit is likely extended in the form of chips, and then the chips are
cashed in at the casino for USD.

~~~
dmurray
The question is, where does the junket - or the casino, since they work
together - get the USD when its only income from this activity is the debts it
collects in CNY.

That's a side of the story that isn't explained here. However it's not a
mystery who would want to be on the other side of that transaction. After all,
an enormous part of the Chinese economy is international businesses who sell
Chinese goods for dollars but need to pay their Chinese suppliers or workers
in renmimbi.

~~~
boomboomsubban
Banks, there's nothing unusual about a casino withdrawing large amounts of
USD.

~~~
ChuckMcM
Exactly this. It seems likely this is a giant money laundering and
exfiltration scheme that both the US and China would nominally like to stop.
That they don't is problematic.

~~~
boomboomsubban
It's not that easy. Every step of it has a legitimate use and it's only when
combined that problems are caused. Then, I don't see what reason the US would
have to want it to stop, more USD in Chinese hands isn't a bad thing. China
wouldn't like it, but as it's taking place in Macau or now Saipan there are
jurisdictional issues.

------
vfulco
Wonder if the headline was meant to stoke the fires shortly after the Maldives
find themselves with the Chinese Navy in their waters and I assume India
freaking out. The timing is uncanny.

------
msie
Title is a little-clickbaity. "Conquering" seems a bit much and the part of
America, in this case, is this remote island.

------
Feniks
You should read about how the US acquired its Pacific teritories. Interesting
stuff. I love all those colonialist skeletons in the closet stories. This is
nothing new, sadly.

------
dsfyu404ed
I'm not sure what the point of this article is? Am I supposed to be enraged
that there exists a job-site that is cutting every corner, a casino is being
used for money laundering by the Chinese elite and politicians are probably
making money in unethical ways as a result?

>several businesses offer Asian tourists access to American eccentricities,
like assault rifles. “Experience the thrill of firing a real gun,” reads an
advertisement for a local shooting range. “In Saipan, it’s legal and is
guaranteed by the United States Constitutions 3rd Amendment.”

Is the typo in the sign or from the author? I hope it's the sign but stuff
like this[1] doesn't come from nowhere

[1] [https://www.nationalreview.com/blog/corner/journalists-
guide...](https://www.nationalreview.com/blog/corner/journalists-guide-
firearms-identification-charles-c-w-cooke/)

~~~
stupidcar
> Am I supposed to be enraged that there exists a job-site that is cutting
> every corner, a casino is being used for money laundering by the Chinese
> elite and politicians are probably making money in unethical ways as a
> result?

Um... yes? Do you think killing workers, money laundering and corruption are
OK?

~~~
daxorid
> Do you think ... money laundering ... [is] OK?

Your other two items are clearly not okay, but doing what you want with money
you earned is perfectly fine.

I have yet to hear a legitimate argument for why "money laundering" is wrong.
Laws already exist to criminalize the illegal acts committed to acquire money
- what, precisely, is the rationale for criminalizing the voluntary
obfuscation of money, however earned?

~~~
dragonwriter
> I have yet to hear a legitimate argument for why "money laundering" is
> wrong.

Money laundering is wrong for the same reason that accessory after the fact,
obstruction of justice, spoliation of evidence, misprision of felony, and
related offenses relating to after-the-fact concealment of crime are wrong.

~~~
chrischen
China restricts money flowing out so laundering that cash may not have been
tied to an actual crime.

~~~
seanmcdirmid
It usually is gray money though, earned by skimming huge capital works
projects, bribes, or whatever. For non-party-nobles who earn money via our
jobs, the $50k exchange limit is probably enough for anything you would need
to do.

The whole point to get the money out of china is as insurance if Xi decides to
crack down on that official for corruption (they are mostly all guilty of it,
so all they have to do is fall out of favor), then all they have to do is get
out of the country and lead the good life.

