Casino operator Las Vegas Sands has agreed to pay a nearly $7m fine to resolve a US federal probe into its activities in China and Macau.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that Sands had agreed to pay $6.96m to resolve the investigation into Sands’ violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in its business transactions in China and Macau. The FCPA prohibits US companies from bribing foreign officials in order to win business concessions.

The payment is in addition to the $9m civil penalty Sands paid last April to resolve a similar probe by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that determined the casino operator had little documentation to explain why it paid $62m to an Asian consultant.

The consultant reportedly acted as a ‘beard’ for Sands’ purchases of Chinese companies and property – including $6m for a basketball team that gambling companies were prohibited from owning – and which some Sands staff suspected were purchased “solely for political purposes.”