Lijie Cui, the primary shareholder of the now-defunct casino operator Imperial Pacific International Holdings (IPI), was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Saipan, a region within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), on Tuesday. The detention occurred at a U.S. Department of Corrections facility in Susupe, Saipan. This development is significant due to the longstanding regulatory and financial troubles that have plagued the casino industry in Saipan, which is a U.S. unincorporated territory.
The Imperial Pacific Palace, once managed by IPI, has been at the center of numerous controversies since its inception. Initially launched as a temporary casino in a Saipan shopping mall in 2016, the venture was intended to pave the way for a permanent $600 million beachfront resort. During its early operations, the casino boasted some of the highest per-table betting volumes worldwide, surpassing even those in established gaming hubs like Macau and Las Vegas. In 2017, the reported VIP turnover reached $49.5 billion across 18 tables. However, these high-stakes operations were overshadowed by serious allegations, including money laundering and forced labor, alongside the company’s failure to meet financial obligations such as contractor payments and licensing fees to the CNMI government.
The legal woes of IPI were compounded by a lawsuit from U.S. gaming executive Joshua Gray, who accused the company of discriminatory hiring practices and retaliation, resulting in a $5 million judgment against IPI. Despite its early financial success, the Imperial Pacific Palace shuttered in 2020 amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened. The unfinished resort later sold at a court-approved auction in 2025 for less than $13 million, reflecting a fraction of its initial valuation.
Construction activity on the resort ceased entirely by 2021, and the property remained dormant. In 2023, CNMI regulators suspended IPI’s gaming license, escalating the company’s operational woes. This was followed by the delisting of IPI from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2024, as the company struggled under a debt burden exceeding $165.8 million, eventually filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The final blow came when Team King Investment LLC acquired IPI’s assets, including the deteriorating resort, for $12.9 million in a court-sanctioned auction. The reasons behind Cui’s arrest remain undisclosed; however, as a foreign investor, she was required to have a valid E-2C long-term investor visa, which could have potentially expired.
Cui, a Chinese national residing in Hong Kong, was profiled by Forbes in 2018 as an entrepreneur with a reported net worth of $1.1 billion. The profile also highlighted her son, Ji Xiaobo, a former executive with Macau’s Hengsheng Group, as a key figure behind the Saipan casino project. This connection underscores the complex web of financial and regulatory challenges that have surrounded IPI and its affiliates.
The arrest of Cui adds a new dimension to the scrutiny surrounding foreign investments in U.S. territories, especially in jurisdictions with histories of regulatory and financial difficulties. It also raises questions about compliance with U.S. immigration and investor visa requirements, particularly in the high-risk gambling and hospitality sectors.
Looking forward, the implications of this arrest are yet to be fully realized. While U.S. authorities have not specified the charges or legal actions pending against Cui, her case could prompt a broader investigation into the practices of foreign investors in the U.S. gambling industry. Additionally, the financial and operational collapse of IPI serves as a cautionary tale for other operators in the region, highlighting the need for stringent regulatory compliance and financial transparency. The response from regulatory bodies and market participants will likely shape the future landscape of gambling operations in Saipan and similar jurisdictions, as they navigate the challenges of attracting investment while ensuring legal and ethical standards are upheld.