To Australia gaming regulators wanting to delve deep into the background of Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho, he says, “bring it.” Melco has announced the intent to purchase a 20% stake in Crown Resorts, which has to first be approved by regulators. However, the authorities believe that the deal might be sour because they assert that Ho is tied to Chinese triads.

Ho has allegedly been linked to the Su Yee On and 14K triads, but no concrete proof has been produced. The allegations date back to the time when Lawrence Ho’s father, Stanley Ho, maintained a monopoly on gambling in Macau until the city went through a reorganization and opened the gaming industry.

Now, Lawrence Ho is ready to accept the regulatory scrutiny with open arms. He told reporters this week, “We are always happy to go through the regulatory process. I think if anything, if you look at our track record of developing our global footprint overseas, we always prefer jurisdictions where there is a strong governance and strong regulatory regime which is why we’ve shied away from some of the other smaller Asian countries where their regulatory regime wasn’t as developed.”

He added, “Again, it will further demonstrate to Japan that we are a global player that is not afraid of compliance and probity reviews.”