Chinese Spy Tasked With Compromising Billionaire Len Ainsworth Ends Up Addicted To Lucky 88 Instead

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

A Chinese intelligence operative sent to compromise pokies billionaire Len Ainsworth has spent $138,600 at a leagues club where the closest she got to the 103-year-old was his surname on the machine in front of her.

The operation was approved following reports that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was compromised by a foreign intelligence. Ainsworth was considered a logical Australian target, according to the Australian investigation.

He had made a fortune in "computing" and his technology could be inspected by any Australian near a pub and lacking basic impulse control.

The operation began in July, according to Australian authorities. The operative sat at a machine with a clear view of the front doors, where Ainsworth was supposed to appear at a later date. At some point that week she moved to Lucky 88, which faced a wall but had a little shelf for her coffee.

Her first report to Beijing included a floor plan and noted that one of the club's two ATMs was out of order. The second report confirmed it had been fixed and included a crudely photoshopped image of her and the billionaire together, with a request for further funds.

By the third week, the operative had struck up a working relationship with a local software company payroll officer named Denise, who minded Lucky 88 while she went to the ATM.

Beijing eventually stopped approving cash advances. The operative stayed on for another fortnight at her own expense, by which time the club had upgraded her membership to "triple diamond executive" and sent her a voucher for a free schooner.

Australian authorities briefly considered whether the incident constituted foreign interference. The file was closed once they established which way the money had gone. The club has since put $500 towards new jerseys for the under-12s. Its logo is on the front.

It's unclear where the spy is now but local authorities suspect it's not good, wherever it is.

More to come.