Australian casino operator Crown Resorts’ decision to scrap its international ambitions was largely forced by China’s detention of Crown staffers for promoting illegal gambling, according to the company’s largest shareholder.

Crown held its annual general meeting in Melbourne on Thursday, at which company chairman James Packer said the October 2016 detentions of 16 Crown staffers – including head of international VIP services Jason O’Connor – “forced the Crown directors’ hand in a large degree in relation to Macau.”

Earlier this year, Crown sold off the last of its stake in the Melco Crown Entertainment joint venture, which operated casinos in Macau and Manila, as part of the company’s new strategy of focusing on its domestic resorts. Crown began its selloff just two months after its staff members were arrested in China, and Packer said Thursday that the decision was made because Crown “takes the welfare of its employees very, very seriously.”

Packer (pictured) also admitted that Crown’s strategy of pursuing resort casino projects in global jurisdictions such as Las Vegas “didn’t succeed.” Crown recently downplayed expectations that the company would make a serious push to obtain one of the coveted Japanese casino licenses.