Report: Ho’s casino transfer done without his consent
This just got interesting.
A day after it was announced that controversial Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho had transferred nearly his entire Macau casino ownership to family members, a Hong Kong lawyer said the moves took place without Ho’s consent.
Ho, who is 89 years old and has been recuperating from brain surgery since 2009, was “very disappointed and distressed” about the transaction, the lawyer, Gordon Oldham told the New York Times.
“This is robbery,” Oldham quoted Ho as having said Tuesday after meeting with him.
Ho planned to initiate legal proceedings in Hong Kong if the matter were not resolved by Wednesday, Oldham said
The family members accused by Ho of wrongdoing said they had acted with his consent. Ho has been married multiple times and has 17 children.
Ho had a 40-year monopoly on casino activity in Macau when it was a Portuguese colony. When China took over ownership of Macau in 1999, the government opened the lucrative market to outside development, allowing American gaming companies Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts, to build hotel-casinos.
International law enforcement authorities have long alleged that Chinese organized crime triads influenced the Macau casinos operated by Ho.
Ho’s company, SJM, operates more than two dozen Macau casinos, including the Hotel Lisboa and Grand Lisboa. The company still maintains the largest share of Macau’s gambling market.
Forbes magazine has ranked Ho as the 13th richest person in Hong Kong, with an estimated fortune of $3.1 billion.
