The Chinese government is investigating Shao Dongming—CEO of Chinese property development company Dongding Investment—for corruption, specifically his $160 million worth of gambling debts in Macau.
Shao Dongming, known as one of the richest men in Shanghai, has been gambling in Macau since 2011 and has been nicknamed “The Red King of Gambling” for making multi-million dollar bets.
Shao accumulated a gambling debt amounting to RMB1 billion ($160 million) after gambling during the Chinese New Year 2012 in Macau. The casino tried to negotiate Shao’s debt repayment over a period of time, however, it is alleged that Shao used his connection with the law enforcement to threaten personnel sent by the Macau casinos.
The casino was said to have taken the debt to courts in Macau. The casino also asked Macau members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference for assistance in filing a complaint with the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
The political corruption investigation was triggered by the businessman’s close relationship with Shanghainese officials, including city mayor Yang Xiong. Shao has also held high-level position in CCDI. A report from China’s NDTV said that Shao boasted that “anyone creating trouble for him would end up in jail.”
Given the allegation, the CCDI was said to have received an instruction for a “stringent inspection” into the issue.
President Xi Jinping has vowed to crack down on both powerful “tigers” as well as lowly “flies,” warning that corruption was a threat to the Communist Party’s survival.
Officials have initiated investigations into several government departments and major state-owned firms in recent months to root out corrupt officials and to fix problems.
