By MADELEINE DAMO – WEALTH AND WORKPLACE REPORTER
An Aussie businessman linked to an embattled Bali property investment scandal ‘substantially downplayed’ his criminal history to the court while embroiled in an ugly legal skirmish with his estranged business partner.
Thailand-based Adrian Campbell describes himself as an entrepreneur who strives to ‘improve the lives’ of those around him through ‘innovative and impactful ventures’.
In his latest outfit he serves as the CEO of Kinnara Capital, a property development company focused on leveraging opportunities for foreign investors in South-East Asia.
The company is currently in the cross-hairs of a stalled Balinese luxury villa development, which reportedly took $5.2million from Australian investors who have since referred the matter to local police.
Defamation and consumer law proceedings initiated by Campbell against McIntyre are currently underway in the Federal Court, and no findings have yet been made on his substantive claims.
Last month, the Federal Court of Australia found Campbell had misled the court and ‘substantially downplayed’ his criminal history in a bid to seek gag orders against his business partner-turned-adversary Jamie McIntyre.
The pair worked together on what was initially called Marina Bay Lombok, a property development located 30 minutes south-west of Bali and spruiked heavily on social media.
Marketed as a luxury waterfront retirement villa, the project was dogged by consistent hiccups and stalling, with investors reporting they were kept in the dark about the progress of their dream villas.
In June, some developments were torn down after reportedly being built in the wrong location, with investors also alleging to police that their money had ended up in bank accounts all over the world. No charges have been laid in relation to the project, and the Mail has sought clarification on the status of the Balinese police investigation.
Since then, McIntyre and Campbell have been engaged in a heated cross-border blame game, which has played out in both the media and Australian and Indonesian courts.
Last month, the Federal Court of Australia found Adrian Campbell (pictured) had misled the court and ‘substantially downplayed’ his criminal history in a bid to seek gag orders against his business partner-turned-adversary Jamie McIntyre
The pair worked together on what was initially called Marina Bay Lombok, a property development located 30 minutes southwest of Bali and spruiked heavily on social media
Thailand-based Adrian Campbell describes himself as an entrepreneur who strives to ‘improve the lives’ of those around him through ‘innovative and impactful ventures’
McIntyre has also accused Campbell of harnessing the Australian media in order to run a coordinated PR campaign against him. While McIntyre’s ten-year ban from ASIC from managing corporations has been attached to nearly every news story on the subject, Campbell’s own rap sheet, featuring multiple convictions under Australian consumer law, has until now evaded coverage.
In May, Campbell won urgent take-down orders against what he alleged was a ‘disinformation campaign’ being waged by McIntyre. The ‘campaign’ consisted of several articles levelling allegations of ‘fraud and misconduct’ against Campbell, along with the ‘misappropriation of money’ and ‘other criminal behaviour’.
Campbell said the allegations were ‘defamatory and misleading or deceptive’, and cost him $25million in contracts.
In securing the interim gag order, Campbell swore in an affidavit that he had ‘never been the subject of any criminal prosecution in Australia, for business practices or anything else,’ nor had he ever been convicted of any criminal offences.
He further deposed that he had not been involved in any case in 2018 nor ordered to pay $500,000 in fines and compensation.
He later changed that evidence in an affidavit three months later, disclosing he had in fact been criminally prosecuted and convicted on multiple occasions.
Last month’s Federal Court judgement recorded Campbell’s own admissions pertaining to his criminal history, which dates back to 2012 when he was convicted of fraud offences.
Then, in 2015, he was convicted on five counts of accepting payment and failing to supply goods or services in relation to the conduct of his business, International Solar Solutions, his affidavit stated.
A report from the Queensland Office of Fair Trading states that Campbell and his business partner accepted $36,710 from customers to install solar systems, yet failed to do so for five months.
McIntyre insists the original project, which is now called Nesara Bay, is going ahead and has offered burnt investors the value of their original investment back, in land
Jamie McIntyre moved to have the gag order thrown out on the grounds that Campbell had misled the court to get it
Marketed as luxury waterfront retirement villas, the project has been dogged by consistent hiccups and stalling, with investors reporting they’ve been kept in the dark about the progress of their luxury villas
Campbell further admitted that he was convicted and fined in 2018 after pleading guilty to 11 charges of making false or misleading representations. He was also ordered to pay $102,200 in compensation.
The charges relate to a scam in which Campbell and an associate pocketed $204,400 through selling distribution licenses for a certain model of smoke alarm despite knowingly having no right to do so.
A copy of the court transcript obtained by the Daily Mail reveals that the sentencing Magistrate described the conduct as ‘deliberate’ and ‘a scam’, with a ‘lack of honesty’ and disregard for those affected.
Justice Derrington found that Campbell not only ‘substantially downplayed’ his criminal history, but also led the court to believe he was an Australian resident, when he isn’t.
Furthermore, the $25 million in lost contracts he’d purported to have been disadvantaged by, were actually sustained by his companies.
So ‘exceptionally serious’ were these omissions by Campbell, that not only was the gag order overturned, but he was also ordered to pay 80 per cent of McIntyre’s legal costs on an indemnity basis.
When approached for comment, Adrian Campbell said his past convictions were a ‘matter of public record and he never sought to hide them’.
‘My first affidavit was incomplete. That was not intentional and was corrected in a later affidavit filed in the same proceeding. I regret the error and respect the Court’s finding. The matters referred to are behind me, and I have built Kinnara since then.’
‘A records search does not show these as prior disclosable court outcomes as they are removed/spent from my file so it was simply an error on my behalf that was updated and my apology was accepted by the courts, proceedings continue.’
Campbell also explained that his company Kinnara was involved in the Marina Bay City project as a sales and marketing agent and did not hold any of the purchaser funds.
‘Kinnara is a reporting party in this matter. It lodged its own report with Indonesian police in November 2025, and further reports have since been lodged by purchasers in Indonesia and with the AFP. Those are matters for the authorities, and Kinnara is co-operating fully.’
‘For around a year I have been the target of a sustained online campaign. I have spoken publicly and to the authorities about my concerns with the project. I will continue to do so, and to defend my reputation through the courts.’
Justice Derrington stopped short of throwing out the entire proceedings, as per McIntyre’s wishes. The substantial proceedings remain underway and will reconvene on October 9.
Original Source: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16168023/adrian-campbell-jamie-mcintyre-bali-property-development-fraud-court.html