Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun has accused family members of 'fraudulently misappropriating' his shares in the private Hong Kong company that ultimately controls the bulk of his wealth - including his entire remaining stake in gaming firm SJM Holdings.
Lawyers acting for the 89-year-old billionaire said he 'discovered much to his horror' that his 100 per cent ownership of locally registered Lanceford Company Limited was last month slashed to less than 1 per cent, while control of the holding company was handed over to his third wife, Ina Chan Un-chan, and the children of his second wife.
'Stanley Ho is of the opinion that this was fraudulently misappropriated by members of his family and we have been instructed to vigorously pursue and protect his interests and pursue those who are involved in this,' Gordon Oldham, senior partner at Oldham, Li and Nie Lawyers, told the South China Morning Post yesterday. 'To say that he is hopping mad about this whole incident is an understatement.'
Lanceford controls Ho's 31.655 per cent stake in private Macau holding company Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM). STDM in turn holds a 55.7 per cent in Hong Kong-listed casino operator SJM.
Lanceford's resulting 17.63 per cent indirect stake in SJM was worth HK$13.3 billion based on yesterday's closing share price. Lanceford holds minor stakes in shipping and property firm Shun Tak Holdings and rival casino investor Melco International Development, according to interim reports filed by those companies.
Lanceford 'holds much more than just [Ho's] interests in SJM. It holds a lot of other assets', Oldham said. 'It is safe to say Lanceford represents the bulk of his wealth.'