By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
IMPERIAL Pacific International majority shareholder Lijie Cui was arrested Tuesday morning by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for alleged immigration violations, Variety has learned.
Cui, 68, is being held at the Department of Corrections, Commissioner Anthony Torres confirmed.
Cui has been a central figure in IPI, which operated Saipan’s casino for four years before shutting down in March 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 19, 2024, reporting more than $165.8 million in liabilities.
The arrest comes as IPI’s long-running bankruptcy case continues to reshape the future of its casino assets. Team King Investment won the bid for those assets during a court-approved auction on Feb. 26, 2025. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris approved the sale on April 29, 2025, after resolving objections from several creditors.
As previously reported by Variety, CNMI Governor’s Office legal counsel Brendan Layde stated in a federal court declaration that IPI facilitated Team King’s participation in the auction. Layde also stated that IPI manager and director Howyo Chi, 40, married Cui last year — approximately six months after the bankruptcy petition was filed.
ICE has not yet released additional details regarding the nature of the alleged immigration violations or the timeline of its investigation.
This is a developing story.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
