Imperial Pacific settles payroll issue, sheds controversial director

Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has bid goodbye to a controversial director while declaring that its payroll problems are history.

On Monday, IPI informed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that director Cai Lingli had resigned as a director of the company and given up chairing the board’s executive committee. The company said Ms. Cai “wishes to devote additional time to her family and other personal business commitments.”

The statement said Ms. Cai had no disagreement with IPI’s board and there was “no matter in relation to her resignation that needs to be brought to the attention” of IPI shareholders. Ms. Cai’s chair seat will be filled by Ms. Xia Yuki Yu, an IPI director since November 2013.

Ms. Cai was named in an April 2017 Bloomberg report that linked her to a company called Esteem Capital Success Ltd, which funded fact-finding trips to Hong Kong and Macau for Saipan legislators in 2013. The trips were controversial because Esteem wasn’t among the bidders for Saipan’s sole casino license, yet its business address was taken over by IPI’s corporate HQ in 2016.