Michael Chen, the man who led Crown Resorts’ push into China, has reportedly left the James Packer’s casino company following the arrest of 18 employees and associates on the mainland last year.

In October, mainland Chinese authorities arrested 18 Crown staff members, including three Australian nationals, on charges of promoting gambling activity at Crown casinos to Chinese VIPs. So far, one staffer has been released, while others are awaiting trial on as-yet unspecified charges.

Chen wasn’t among those caught up in the raids on the mainland, but the Crown executive was reportedly placed on “permanent leave” after the arrests, according to ABC’s Four Corners program. His LinkedIn page showed Chen, who was Crown Resorts’ president of international marketing, left the company in March after more than five years of service.

Sources familiar with the matter told The Australian Financial Review that Chen was behind Crown’s decision “to engage more directly with Chinese high rollers, rather than go through the traditional junket channel” amid the Beijing government’s crackdown on corruption.