HONGKONG - THE share restructuring of Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho's business empire was done without his consent and he accuses his family of stealing shares, leaving him with effectively no assets, his lawyer said yesterday.
The 89-year-old billionaire, chairman of Macau's biggest casino operator, SJM Holdings, built up a lucrative gambling empire in the former Portuguese colony over nearly half a century.
Mr Ho's lawyer, Mr Gordon Oldham, said the tycoon had not authorised the transfer of shares in his holding company, Lanceford Co, to his family members.
Mr Oldham, contacted by mobile phone at the tycoon's home, quoted Mr Ho as saying that his empire was being carved up against his wishes.
"This is robbery," Mr Oldham quoted Mr Ho as saying.
Mr Joseph Lo, a director at public-relations firm Brunswick in Hong Kong and who represents Lanceford, said he did not have any immediate response from Mr Ho's family.
The health of the once-spry octogenarian has deteriorated following brain surgery in 2009, and intense speculation has swirled over the risks of a potentially bitter succession battle among his four wives and at least 17 known children.
Mr Oldham said Mr Ho warned that he would initiate legal proceedings against his family in the next 48 hours unless the matter was resolved.
The share restructuring, detailed in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by SJM on Monday, said Mr Ho would no longer have any attributable interest in Sociedade de Turismoe Diversoes de Macau, which controls SJM's parent, STDM - Investments.
"Mr Ho believes that his interest in Lanceford, which contains the bulk of his assets, has had share transfers taking place by his second and third family," said Mr Oldham, a senior partner at the Oldham, Li & Nie law firm.
"The effect of which is to dilute him (his assets) to almost nothing - well, to nothing - and this is again without his knowledge, without his consent and certainly against his wishes."
Mr Ho, who has amassed a multi-billion dollar empire, was hospitalised in 2009 and underwent two major operations.
Following a lengthy convalescence, he has made sparing public outings.
Mr Oldham would not talk about Mr Ho's state of health, and said only that he was "very distressed" by his family's actions.
SJM's shares were suspended yesterday after being partially suspended on Monday, prior to the announcement. It closed down 4 per cent on Monday after falling as much as 9 per cent earlier.
