Gaming company Macau Legend Development (MLD) has accused the Cape Verdean government of committing an “aggressive act” by terminating, without prior notice, contracts, and land concessions for its uncompleted gaming and tourism project planned for the country’s capital.
The project, announced ten years ago, has left parts of the city’s waterfront blocked off, and an empty eight-story hotel-casino in Cape Verde’s capital of Praia.
Last month the Cape Verde government announced it had terminated its contracts with MLD, claiming repeated violations of obligations related to what was initially a supposed €250 million ($264.7 million) tourism and gaming investment in the city.
“These administrative acts of contract termination and the reversion of assets to the state were decreed without MLD being previously notified of any decision regarding the ongoing administrative procedure,” the company stated in a press release published in the weekly newspaper Expresso das Ilhas.
“MLD will immediately resort to all available legal means to defend its rights and trusts that, as long as the issues related to these contracts remain unresolved, the State of Cape Verde will not take any further offensive actions against its rights as an investor”.
Regarding the administrative process, the company claims to have kept the government informed of “negotiations with interested investors” for the project, requesting “the definition of essential elements” to protect “the public interest of Cape Verde.”
The company also complained that the government ignored its requests and only notified it of the decision to terminate everything and revert the assets via email, one day after the announcement in the Official Bulletin.
MLD asserts that it has always paid the necessary licenses to the municipal and governmental authorities, noting that the last payment for the renewal of gaming licenses was made on November 18th, the same day the contracts were terminated and the reversion was announced.
The Cape Verdean Council of Ministers justified the termination of the contracts and the reversion of the hotel-casino and other unfinished works, stating that “MLD has repeatedly and flagrantly violated its obligations,” failing to meet deadlines that have been revised since the initial investment announcement.
The government also stated that it provided “all opportunities” for the company to resume work, dismissing the justification that the current situation is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
