Genting Malaysia has described a US$600 million claim against its subsidiary Genting Americas Inc (GAI) by RAV Bahamas Ltd – its partner in Resorts World Bimini in the Bahamas – as “malicious and baseless” and accused RAV of seeking to extract an “exorbitant payment” in its latest defense of the matter.
The comments formed part of a Thursday filing in response to queries from the Malaysian Bourse, which had asked for more details around the complaint and the potential financial impact.
Having previously called the claim “baseless and totally without merit”, Genting Malaysia went much further this time around, stating, “The suit is nothing more than a shareholder dispute in which RAV seeks unsubstantiated damages in excess of US$600 million, and also requests pre- and post-judgment interest at unspecified rates.
“These malicious and baseless claims are an attempt by RAV and its principals to extract an exorbitant payment from GAI and inflict severe reputational damage upon GAI.”
In response to the bourse’s queries around the financial and operational impact of the complaint on the Genting Malaysia Group, and around expected losses, the company stated, “As the Complaint is entirely baseless and without merit, we do not expect there to be any material impact on the financial results or operations of the Genting Malaysia Group from such claims.”
It added, “There are no expected losses, other than the cost of defense, on the basis that GAI firmly believes that the Complaint is entirely baseless and without merit.”
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, RAV Bahamas, which owns 22% of RWB operating entity BB Entertainment, filed a lawsuit with the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida last week alleging Genting – owner of the majority 78% – has turned the IR into a “financial wasteland” by dumping onto it almost a billion dollars in debt.
The claim, which seeks US$600 million in damages, describes Genting’s alleged actions as “a massive and co-ordinated fraud” that has left assets contributed to RWB by RAV Bahamas as “essentially worthless”. It also accuses Genting of “depriving” the joint venture of profits and says the Malaysian firm “has deliberately kneecapped” its efforts to dig deeper by denying full access to the books.
