Saipan-based Imperial Pacific International (IPI) is tipped to owe the CNMI government more than $100 million USD.

Awaiting a further capital infusion from investors, Imperial Pacific International has missed payment on its license and regulatory fees for both the 2020 and 2021 periods. The company is scheduled to pay a further $15.5 million USD for the annual license fee for the 2022 period in mid-August. With the regulatory fees due in October, the company is facing a potential $103 million USD debt.

The CCC revoked the license of IPI over these debts, with the company filing a temporary restraining order.

Imperial Pacific International have become in discussions with South Korea’s IH Group. While there has been talks of an $150 million USD cash injection, no content agreement has been signed off.

The Korean investment firm IH Group are planning to take over operations of the casino and villas at the Imperial Palace Saipan and are expected to resume construction of the hotel tower.

While ongoing negotiations have been promising the CCC refuses to rule out the danger to the IPI’s casino license.

“IPI’s failure to meet these obligations is the reason [we have] cut back from close to 50 employees to only nine, that’s why the revocation is in front of us,” said CCC chair Edward C. Deleon Guerrero.