Gionee founder loses a million-dollar bet in a casino, company files for bankruptcy: Report

In what could be a dramatic turn of events, Chinese smartphone maker Gionee has officially filed for bankruptcy and entered liquidation, according to reports. Gionee may have been under huge debt. According to reports, Gionee owes 20.2 billion yuan (roughly $3 billion) to 648 creditors, half of which are banks.

Trouble for Gionee may have worsened when its founder and chairman Liu Lirong reportedly lost a 1 billion yuan (roughly $144 million) bet in a casino. The report has that Liu may have borrowed company funds to gamble at a casino.

During an interview with Securities Times, Gionee founder Liu Lirong admitted that the company owes a total 17 billion yuan with 10 billion yuan to banks, 5 billion yuan to upstream suppliers and around 2 billion yuan to advertising agencies.

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Last year, Chinese smartphone maker ranked behind Apple to secure sixth place in terms of sales at its home turf. Problems emerged after suppliers stopped supplying component to Gionee for not paying them for months.

Last year, Gionee India’s Arvind Vohra stepped down after serving as the company’s CEO for five years. Earlier this year, Gionee sold its India operations to Karbonn Mobiles. But it has been a really long time since we have heard anything from Gionee in India afterward.