IMPERIAL Pacific International facilitated Team King Investment’s participation in the auction of IPI’s casino assets, according to attorney Brendan Layde, who represents the CNMI governor’s office.
In a declaration filed in the bankruptcy division of the District Court of the NMI, Layde said Team King’s principal is “closely related to the debtor (IPI).”
On March 25, 2025, at 9 a.m., a hearing will be held before Bankruptcy Judge Robert J. Faris to consider the approval of the sale of the assets to the successful bidder, Team King, “free and clear of all liens, claims, and encumbrances.”
In an auction conducted by Intrepid Investment Bankers LLC, in consultation with IPI and the committee of unsecured creditors on Feb. 26, 2025, Team King Investment’s bid for the casino assets was selected.
Team King’s bid was a $12.95 million cash purchase price, plus an option to acquire the casino license and assume certain liabilities of IPI.
Earlier, Loi Lam Sit was designated as the stalking horse bidder who would pay $12.5 million for the purchase of IPI’s casino assets and the option to purchase its casino license.
A stalking horse bidder is an “initial bidder chosen by the debtor (or the seller) to set a baseline price for assets being sold through an auction process. The stalking horse bid serves as a starting point to attract other potential bidders and ensure a fair market price.”
Because a successful bidder has been chosen, Loi Lam Sit will now be the backup bidder for the assets.
Both the CNMI government and former IPI employee Joshua Gray, who has a $5.6 million judgment against IPI for discrimination and retaliation, are opposing the approval of the sale of casino assets.
Layde filed a declaration in support of the CNMI government’s opposition to the joint motion of IPI and the committee of unsecured creditors to approve the sale of casino assets.
Web of entities
According to Layde, he has tracked the web of entities and individuals affiliated with IPI for several years.
“I have obtained and compiled documents from the CNMI, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong and elsewhere on this issue,” Layde said.
He said he has documentary evidence showing that both bidders in the auction have close ties to IPI and its principals.
“None of these relationships were disclosed in the bid proposal submitted as part of the auction process,” he added.
Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Pacific International Holdings.
“The parent company, IPIH, is incorporated in Bermuda and was publicly traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange until it was delisted effective June 17, 2024, and is now in liquidation proceedings in Hong Kong,” Layde said.
IPI is a member-managed limited liability company incorporated in the CNMI and was organized by a single member, Best Sunshine International Ltd., a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and wholly owned by IPIH.
“Best Sunshine was administratively dissolved in April 2023 because its registered agent in the BVI had resigned,” Layde said.
He said Lijie Cui, a Chinese national who resided in Hong Kong for a long period of time, is the controlling shareholder of IPIH via Inventive Star, a company of which she is the beneficial owner, and which is, in turn, the majority shareholder of IPIH.
Xiaobo Ji is the son of Cui; he is also a Chinese national who lived in Hong Kong and, together with Cui, was primarily responsible for IPI’s casino and hotel project in Saipan, Layde said.
“As recently as February 2024, at a hearing before the Commonwealth Casino Commission on the possible revocation of the Debtor’s exclusive casino license, Howyo Chi testified that Mr. Ji ‘calls the shots’ with respect to the Debtor’s decision-making,” Layde said.
Howyo Chi has worked for the IPI since 2017 in several different capacities, Layde added.
“When virtually every other employee was terminated after Covid, Mr. Chi remained as one of the only employees of the Debtor. Since October 2023, Mr. Chi has stated that he holds the title of Manager and Director,” Layde said.
He noted that Chi is also the husband of Cui, and the stepfather of Ji.
“Although Ms. Cui is 66 years old and Mr. Chi is 40 years old, the two were married in Saipan on October 18, 2024 — approximately six months after the [bankruptcy] Petition was filed,” Layde said.
Closely related
Layde said Loi Lam Sit — the debtor-in-possession or DIP lender and stalking horse bidder in the case — is closely related to IPI.
“He was initially willing to loan $7 million of his own money as a DIP loan. Based on his declaration, he works for a cosmetics company; he has no experience in Saipan, the hotel industry, the casino industry, or real estate. Eventually, Mr. Sit admitted that he agreed to take on these roles because he was ‘approached by a personal friend to help Mr. Ji with financing [IPI’s] Chapter 11 case…and to fund the potential settlement with the Commonwealth Casino Commission…. Mr. Sit did not express that he himself ever had any interest in owning the assets of the Debtor, only that he was helping Mr. Ji,” Layde said.
Closely related, too
Team King’s principals are also closely related to IPI, Layde said.
“Team King Investment is a Limited Liability Company that was only organized on January 17, 2025, and registered with the Registrar of Corporations of the CNMI on February 4, 2025. Documents exhibit the numerous and significant connections between Team King’s principals and Mr. Ji, Ms. Cui, Mr. Chi, and IPI, which date back to at least 2023,” Layde said.
“Like the structure of the Debtor and its parent, Team King is a CNMI entity, but it is wholly owned by Team King Investment Limited, which is a BVI company. The Manager of Team King is Hiroshi Kaneko. The Members of Team King’s parent company in the BVI are: Hiroshi Kaneko, Boon Chuan Tan, and Teck Tien Kon,” Layde added.
He said Teck Tien Kon was made the executive director of IPIH (IPI’s parent company) and a member of its board, effective October 20, 2023 — less than one year before the bankruptcy petition was filed.
As for Kaneko, who is the CEO of the Japan Kyosei Group in Hong Kong, Layde said, “In July 2023, the Kyosei Group and Hiroshi Kaneko entered a Memorandum of Understanding with IPIH in which the Kyosei Group agreed to invest $300 million to assist Mr. Ji and Ms. Cui to make a settlement with the CNMI government and resume their operations in Saipan.”
In August 2023, Layde said the Kyosei Group transferred the first $20 million (in two installments) of this money to Ji to cover IPI’s urgent need for capital.
“It is clear that Hiroshi Kaneko was part of the aforementioned transaction with IPIH because he signed the MOU as a Witness,” Layde said.
He said the signature page from the MOU and the copy of Hiroshi Kaneko’s passport with his signature that was submitted to the CNMI when incorporating Team King “are exactly the same.”
Layde said IPI “also arranged and facilitated the participation of Team King in the auction. The corporate documents for Team King [show] that Howyo Chi paid the $262.50 in registration fees on behalf of Team King with his personal Visa card, and presumably he also filed all its papers with the relevant CNMI agency.”
