Inside the $5.2m Bali villa project that left Australian investors in the dark

A stalled Bali villa project linked to Adrian Campbell’s Kinnara network has become the latest example of how offshore property schemes can leave Australian investors chasing answers across borders, corporate entities and police jurisdictions.

The Daily Mail reported that the development, initially promoted as Marina Bay Lombok and later referred to by investors as Marina Bay City, attracted about $5.2 million from Australian buyers before progress slowed to a standstill. Some investors told police they were kept in the dark for months, and in June 2026 parts of the project were reportedly torn down after being built in the wrong location. No charges have been laid in relation to the project.

Kinnara Capital, headed by Campbell from Thailand, has described itself as a property development and marketing business focused on South-East Asia. Campbell has said Kinnara acted only as a sales and marketing agent for the Bali project, did not hold purchaser funds, and lodged its own report with Indonesian police in November 2025. He has also said the company is co-operating with authorities.

Questions over the flow of funds

Investors have alleged that their money ended up in bank accounts around the world. Those claims have not been tested in court, but they sit against a wider pattern that has drawn attention from regulators, law enforcement and the Federal Court.

In recent years, Campbell’s business history has been examined in proceedings involving past convictions and the way he presented his background to the court. In Campbell v McIntyre (No 2) [2026] FCA 1279, Justice Derrington found Campbell had sworn an affidavit that falsely claimed he had never been convicted of any criminal offence in Australia. The court later found the omissions exceptionally serious and discharged injunctions Campbell had obtained.

The judge also ordered Campbell to pay 80 per cent of the other side’s costs on an indemnity basis, a severe sanction reserved for serious misconduct or abuse of process. Campbell later filed a corrected affidavit admitting convictions dating back to 2012, including Queensland fraud convictions, five 2015 Southport Magistrates Court convictions linked to International Solar Solutions, and 11 consumer law convictions in 2018 relating to Eco Boss Pty Ltd.

“The omissions were exceptionally serious,” Justice Derrington found in the Federal Court proceedings.

Campbell’s response has been that the convictions are a matter of public record, that he never sought to hide them, and that the first affidavit was incomplete rather than intentional. He has said the error was corrected, that he regrets it, and that he respects the court’s finding.

Offshore structure, onshore consequences

The Bali matter has sharpened scrutiny of offshore property marketing models that target Australians while operating through a web of foreign entities. Kinnara Capital, Kinnara Asia and Kinnara Limited are associated with Campbell’s network, with the Hong Kong-registered Kinnara Limited also linked to the structure.

That model can make recovery difficult when projects stall. Funds may move through multiple jurisdictions, local building approvals can become contested, and investors can be left dealing with different answers from promoters, agents and developers. In this case, public claims about location, progress and delivery have all become matters of dispute.

The Daily Mail said Campbell’s own convictions had largely escaped media coverage until the Bali scheme drew renewed attention. Campbell has since faced continuing scrutiny over the way he and related companies presented the project, particularly after the Federal Court found his affidavit evidence was unreliable.

For Australian investors, the Bali development is a reminder that offshore property promotions can carry risks that are hard to test once money has left Australia. Regulatory agencies such as ASIC, the ACCC and Scamwatch routinely warn consumers to check licensing, ownership structures, dispute pathways and the legal entity receiving funds before dealing with overseas promoters.

In Campbell’s case, the pattern is now well documented in public records: earlier convictions, later consumer law findings, and a Federal Court judgment that exposed false statements in sworn material. The substantive claims between Campbell and his opponents remain unresolved, and the proceedings were listed to reconvene on 9 October 2026.

What remains disputed is whether the Bali project was simply another failed development or part of a broader offshore sales structure that left investors exposed. What is not disputed is that millions were raised, the project stalled, and Australian investors were left seeking answers far from home.