Ji Xiaobo fingered as mafia kingpin by Chinese

Macau is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.

Saipan based Imperial Pacific International (IPI) owner, Ji Xiaobo, was identified as a mafia kingpin by the Chinese court as his entourage were handed long prison sentences. Ji entered the Macau gaming industry with a Chinese junket in 2011, opening his first VIP room. In two years business expanded to seven VIP rooms in most major casinos in Macau, offering 86 tables. IPI opened a casino under a temporary casino license in 2014. It operated 48 gaming tables and 141 slot machines. IPI Casino officially opened in July 2017, and the casino’s capacity increased to 77 tables and 243 machines. In its 2017 financial report, IPI reported a 75% increase in revenue to HK$13.2 billion ($1.7 billion), of which 96.7% came from the VIP segment.

All was not as it appeared. The operation was laundering huge sums of dirty money. IPI was investigated by the DoJ for money laundering in 2017. Hong Kong listed IPI shares were suspended from trading. The Chinese began investigating Ji Xiaobo in 2020. He hasn’t been seen in public for more than two years, and is allegedly hiding in Tokyo. Chinese authorities are said to be on the hunt for him.