A recent judgment from the Hong Kong High Court has brought a long-dormant cross-border gambling case involving hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars in interest and intermediary fees back into the spotlight, with the main figure being Huang Youlong, the former husband of actress Zhao Wei.
The case, identified as HCA 474/2019, saw the plaintiff, Cai Yifeng, have all her claims dismissed by the court, which also ordered her to bear the full legal costs of the proceedings. Cai Yifeng has indicated she will appeal the decision.
The plaintiff in this matter is Cai Yifeng, wife of former ATV executive director Sheng Pinru, while the defendants are Huang Youlong and his then-personal assistant, Zhou Haiyuan. The core dispute stems from Huang Youlong's gambling credit activities at the Crown Perth casino in Australia in 2015. At that time, Cai Yifeng was serving as Vice President of Marketing for Crown Resorts, with key responsibilities including attracting high-stakes gamblers, liaising with licensed gaming promoters, and arranging gambling credit for clients to earn commissions.
In 2015, due to outstanding large gambling debts to multiple casinos and intermediaries, Huang Youlong could not obtain credit directly from Crown. He therefore engaged Cai Yifeng to assist in securing a loan. Through her connections, Huang Youlong obtained two separate loans totaling 60 million Australian dollars (approximately 283 million RMB at the time) from Suncity Group Promotions Limited, a company associated with Alvin Chau (also known as "洗米华"). These funds were used to purchase chips at the Crown casino, with Huang losing the entire amount within a mere six days.
Following the total loss of the gambling funds, Huang Youlong initiated a long-term repayment plan. Between February 2, 2016, and November 11, 2019, Huang made payments totaling approximately 273 million Hong Kong dollars directly to Suncity. On September 17, 2019, Suncity formally signed a deed of release, confirming that Huang Youlong's entire 60 million Australian dollar gambling credit debt had been fully settled, thereby discharging his corresponding repayment obligations.
Cai Yifeng's side argued that she, along with her mother and a cousin, had a cooperative arrangement with Suncity to provide advance funding for gamblers. They claimed a private credit agreement was reached with Huang Youlong, stipulating that if he failed to repay on time, he would owe overdue interest at an annualized rate of 24%.
Between March and July 2015, Huang Youlong repaid 143 million Hong Kong dollars to Cai Yifeng via his personal assistant and his companies, and also issued three checks totaling 180 million Hong Kong dollars as acknowledgment of debt, though these checks ultimately bounced. Furthermore, Huang had promised to provide a 10 million Hong Kong dollar deposit to assist Cai Yifeng in purchasing a property valued at 70 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong's Stanley area to settle the debt. As Huang did not pay the remaining balance, Cai Yifeng covered the shortfall herself and completed the property transaction in 2017.
Despite Suncity's confirmation that the debt was cleared, Cai Yifeng contended that she was the intermediary who advanced and facilitated the loan, and that Huang Youlong still owed her substantial overdue interest. She subsequently filed a lawsuit in the Hong Kong High Court, seeking over 100 million Hong Kong dollars in overdue interest and intermediary fees from Huang Youlong and his assistant.
In defense, Huang Youlong's side argued that his loan contract was exclusively with Suncity Group Promotions Limited, and that he never entered into any private credit or interest agreement with Cai Yifeng or her family members. The transfers and checks issued to Cai Yifeng were for the purpose of repaying the gambling debt to Suncity through her as an agent.
The promise to assist with the property purchase and the 10 million Hong Kong dollar deposit were not acts of debt settlement, but rather gifts of gratitude for her help in facilitating the loan, with 5 million Hong Kong dollars specifically designated as a wedding gift. Huang Youlong emphasized that he had fully repaid the entire principal and related amounts to Suncity and owed no additional interest.
After considering all evidence, financial records, witness testimonies, and commercial logic, Deputy Judge Kwong Ka-tung ultimately dismissed all of Cai Yifeng's claims. The judge ruled that the gambling credit contract relationship existed solely between Suncity and Huang Youlong. Cai Yifeng was merely a casino business intermediary and corporate employee with no right to claim substantial interest from Huang Youlong individually. Specifically, the judge noted that providing gambling credit is a licensed activity; Cai Yifeng's role was limited to client referral and intermediary liaison. She was not qualified to privately issue gambling credit, nor did she bear any credit risk herself. Her claim of a private lending arrangement with interest was deemed inconsistent with commercial logic.
Furthermore, the judge noted that Suncity's principal, Alvin Chau, had explicitly informed Cai Yifeng that the right to pursue interest belonged to the funders, Crown Group and Suncity, and that she, as an employee, had no authority to pursue claims or profit privately. Cai Yifeng's cousin also denied that she had lent money to Huang Youlong, refuting her qualification to make such claims.
Additionally, the judge found it unfair to Huang Youlong that Cai Yifeng never actively pursued interest claims before the debt was fully settled in 2019, only to assert high interest afterward. The financial records confirmed that the funds Cai Yifeng received from Huang Youlong were used to repay Suncity, and there was no private agreement on debt interest between them.
Beyond this gambling debt dispute, Huang Youlong has long been a focus of public attention due to his former marriage to celebrity Zhao Wei and their involvement in capital market irregularities. On December 28, 2024, Zhao Wei publicly confirmed via Weibo that she had formally divorced Huang Youlong many years prior, and their marital relationship had been legally dissolved.
Public records show that Zhao Wei, born on March 12, 1976, in Wuhu, Anhui, is a renowned Chinese actress, singer, director, and producer. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy's Acting Department with a master's degree in directing from the same institution, her notable works include classic film and television productions such as "My Fair Princess" and "Romance in the Rain."
Zhao Wei and Huang Youlong registered their marriage in 2008. The couple was once deeply involved in the capital market through various operations, most notably the highly leveraged attempted acquisition of Wanjia Culture (now renamed Xiangyuan Cultural Tourism). Their plan to acquire the company with over 50x leverage sparked significant controversy and regulatory scrutiny.
In April 2018, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) imposed maximum penalties for the incident, issuing an "Administrative Penalty Decision" and a "Market Ban Decision." Wanjia Culture and Longwei Media were ordered to make corrections, given warnings, and fined 600,000 RMB each. Kong Deyong, Huang Youlong, Zhao Wei, and others were given warnings and fined 300,000 RMB each. Huang Youlong, Zhao Wei, and Kong Deyong were also banned from the securities market for five years.
Following the regulatory penalties and changes in the industry environment, Zhao Wei's business footprint has continued to shrink in recent years. Data from Tianyancha shows that Zhao Wei was once a shareholder in 17 companies spanning film and television entertainment, investment, technology, and real estate, including notable firms like Hebao Entertainment Group Co., Ltd., Wuhu Dongrunfa Investment Co., Ltd., and Beijing Prins Culture Communication Co., Ltd.
Currently, Zhao Wei has withdrawn her investment from four enterprises, including Shanghai Yunfeng New Venture Capital Investment Center (Limited Partnership). Many of the companies she held stakes in have been deregistered or revoked. Among the three companies where she served as legal representative, only Zhao Zhao (Shanghai) Film and Television Culture Studio remains active; the other two have been deregistered.
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