James Packer resigns from all his directorships in Australia

Billionaire James Packer has resigned from the boards of 22 Australian companies in recent weeks and is no longer a director of any registered business in the country.

This decision follows the resignation of the 50 – year – old business man from Crown Resorts' board of directors in March. According to him, his private investment vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings, was suffering from "mental health problems". At the end of June, Mr. Packer resigned from CPH's board of directors and since then he has resigned from all his director positions in companies registered in Australia, according to the company's records.

"This is a very significant gesture from Mr. Packer, who for years has been one of the largest investors in Australia and seems to be no longer active," said Stephen Mayne, director of the Australian Shareholders Association.

"The Packer family has been at the forefront of Australian business for decades."

million. Packer inherited a media and editorial empire from his father Kerry Packer, which he then sold and used to finance the construction of Crown Resorts. the largest casino operator. The company first flourished and expanded in the United States, Macau and elsewhere, but when 19 Crown employees were arrested in China in 2016 and later convicted of "gambling-related crimes", Mr. Packer cut the group out of Australia and sold most of its badets abroad.

The high-profile arrests in China, linked to the illegal marketing of casino activities, and the break-up of Mr. Packer's relationship with American pop star Mariah Carey, have apparently cost the billionaire a heavy price. In March, Mr Packer applied for medical treatment for mental illness and began withdrawing from his Australian businesses.

The company records show that he resigned from his position as director of 24 Australian companies this year, the most recent on July 11, when he left the Mistytime board of directors . Mr. Packer 's address is listed in Colorado on the papers filed, which were first reported by the Australian newspaper.

Despite the decline in Australian operations, Packer still controls the CPH group and remains a director of CPH International, the Bahamas-based holding company. He also remains a shareholder in nearly a dozen Australian companies.

million. Packer, which is worth $ 4.1 billion, according to Forbes, should remain in the spotlight. Last year, he was involved in a continuing corruption investigation into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara by Israeli prosecutors.

In consultation with Israeli prosecutors, the Australian police questioned Mr. Packer about the gifts allegedly provided to Mr. Netanyahu. Last month, Sara Netanyahu was charged with fraud and breach of trust in relation to the ordering of expensive meals for the residence of the Israeli prime minister.

million. Packer makes no reference to wrongdoing.