ICE detained Chinese businesswoman and casino financier Cui Lijie on the morning of January 13 for alleged immigration violations. The detainment took place in the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated American territory in the western Pacific Ocean. Lijie is best known as the former majority shareholder of the defunct Chinese investment holding company Imperial Pacific International. According to Forbes, her networth was $1.1 billion as of 2018. The holding company had established the sole casino on the islands, named the Imperial Pacific Palace, and located on Saipan. The gambling den and its developer have been embroiled in controversy since the casino’s inception. In 2018, Bloomberg reported a series of safety violations during the construction of the Palace, and crews composed of hundreds of Chinese employees were working illegally on tourist visas. The U.S. government shut down the casino in 2020, and those involved in its construction were indicted for their employment practices. Since then, the casino filed for bankruptcy, and Team King Investment bought the property. According to Commissioner Anthony Torres, Lijie is confined at the island’s Department of Corrections, first reported by local paper Marianas Variety. ICE has not reported any other information about her detainment.
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