Chinese high-roller sues SkyCity Adelaide and a notorious junket operator over missing millions

A high-roller’s $5m winning streak at SkyCity Adelaide led to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the casino and a junket operator with alleged Asian crime gang links.

SkyCity Adelaide and a Chinese junket operator with alleged links to organised crime are being sued for $4.84m for “breach of trust” and “fraud” respectively.

Linong Ma is suing Xiongming Xie, of Hunters Hill in Sydney, SkyCity Adelaide, and another junket operator, Fang Zhuangqian, over missing millions related to gambling sessions in May 2019 during which Mr Ma won more than $5 million.

But, Mr Ma claims in court documents, most of his winnings were remitted back to Mr Xie by SkyCity, leaving him millions out of pocket and the alleged victim of “fraud” on the part of Mr Xie and “negligence” on the part of SkyCity.

In a statement of claim lodged with the Supreme Court, Mr Ma says that he is a “high-roller” gambler, who had been on six previous junkets to Australia organised by Mr Xie, visiting casinos operated by Crown.

Junket operator Xiongming Xie is being sued for nearly $5m by a high-roller who alleges he defrauded him of millions in gambling winnings.

Mr Xie, the court documents state, “entered into agreements ... with the operators of Australian casinos, including SkyCity as operator of the Adelaide casino, whereby Mr Xie was to receive a commission or fee calculated as a proportion of the gambling turnover generated by a high-roller”.

The court documents explain that Mr Ma – a millionaire from Hong Kong and Shanxi province in mainland China – would transfer money to Mr Xie, which he would then be able to gamble with in Australian casinos.

Once he was done gambling, he would deposit his chips back into Mr Xie’s account, and be sent his winnings, if there were any.

The Adelaide outing in May 2019 did not go as planned, the court documents state.

Mr Ma was accompanied to SkyCity by a Ms Goh, who he claims was “employed or engaged by Mr Xie as an escort or hostess for high-rollers’’.

Ms Goh, according to Mr Ma’s claim, had authority to transact via Mr Xie’s account with SkyCity, depositing and withdrawing chips for Mr Ma to gamble with.

On May 21, 2019, Mr Ma, accompanied by Ms Goh and a friend introduced as “Ms Fan”, withdrew $400,000 to play baccarat, and lost $370,000.

The following day Mr Ma withdrew another $600,000 worth of chips, and by 3am on May 26, had “amassed gambling chips to a value of $6,048,500, representing his original stake of $1 million and winnings of $5,048,500’’.

But at that time, Mr Ma alleges, Ms Goh refused to cash out his chips, saying it could not be done until the following Monday.

The chips were then placed in a safety deposit box.

SkyCity Adelaide general manager David Christian on the new gaming floor following the casino’s massive redevelopment. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Ma resumed gambling that evening, and that night, tried to cash in $6.3 million in chips via Ms Goh.

But, Mr Ma claims in the court documents, Mr Xie had cancelled Ms Goh’s authority to act on his behalf, transferring it to a Ms Zhang who was also present.

Ms Zhang deposited his chips and “purported to sign a receipt therefore’’.

Mr Ma challenged a casino staff member, saying he did not know Ms Zhang, and the receipt, it is claimed, was torn up, and the chips were replaced in the safety deposit box.

But on May 29, it is alleged, SkyCity then took the chips from the safety deposit box and deposited them with Mr Xie.

About $2.049 million of that sum bounced back, and SkyCity has since paid that into the Supreme Court suitors fund, it is claimed.

Mr Xie has also not paid Mr Ma the balance of his winnings, it is claimed.

Mr Ma said in terms of SkyCity’s conduct, he never authorised:

■ The removal of his chips from the box;

■ The transfer to Mr Xie;

■ The retention of the $2.049m.

Mr Ma claims in the court documents that “Mr Xie, through Ms Goh and Ms Zhang ... was behaving in a furtive and suspicious manner”.

They also say that Mr Xie was arrested in Sydney in July 2019 and charged with “having allegedly ... threatened a man with a knife, demanded the transfer of a $10 million property and stabbed the man almost to death’’.

“The press and media widely reported ... a suspicion, attributed to New South Wales police, that the alleged criminal conduct of Mr Xie was ‘part of a suspected Triad Asian crime gang hit’.’’

Mr Ma says that by October, when SkyCity transferred the money to the Supreme Court, it “was put on enquiry as to whether or not Mr Xie was a dangerous and violent criminal” and “had links with Asian Triad criminal gangs’’.

Mr Ma is seeking $4.84m “as equitable compensation for breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty” for all defendants and in the case of Mr Xie, “as damages for fraud’’.

A defence is yet to be filed by any other defendants.

SkyCity declined to comment on the matter as it is before the court.

Originally published as Chinese high-roller sues SkyCity Adelaide and a notorious junket operator over missing millions