SAIPAN — Cui Lijie, a 68-year-old Hong Kong permanent resident and major shareholder of Imperial Pacific International, was arrested Tuesday morning at Saipan airport by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, local media reported.
Cui, the mother of Macau-based investor Ji Xiaobo, is alleged to have violated US immigration law and is currently being held pending a hearing next week. Anthony Torres, the corrections commissioner, confirmed her detention. Foreign investors in the Northern Mariana Islands are required to hold a valid E-2C long-term investor visa, and authorities suggest her arrest may be linked to a lapse in her residency or investment visa status.
Cui and her son previously invested up to US$2 billion in a Saipan casino, which operated for roughly four years before closing in March 2020 during the pandemic. The half-built project was abandoned, faced federal investigations, and lawsuits, though a new investor pledged to continue it in August 2025. Imperial Pacific International was delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2024.
