An Australian businessman connected to a troubled Bali property investment venture significantly understated his criminal record in court while locked in a bitter legal dispute with his former business partner.
Adrian Campbell, who is based in Thailand, presents himself as an entrepreneur committed to “improving the lives” of others through what he calls “innovative and impactful ventures”.
He is now chief executive of Kinnara Capital, a property development business that promotes investment opportunities for overseas buyers across South-East Asia.
Kinnara Capital has been linked to a stalled luxury villa project in Bali, where Australian investors reportedly contributed $5.2 million. The investors have since referred the matter to Indonesian police.
Campbell has launched defamation and consumer law proceedings against Jamie McIntyre in the Federal Court. The case remains ongoing, and the court has not yet reached any conclusions about the substance of Campbell’s claims.
However, a Federal Court judgment last month found that Campbell had misled the court and “substantially downplayed” his criminal history when seeking suppression orders against McIntyre, his former business partner who later became his legal opponent.
The two men were previously involved in Marina Bay Lombok, a property development promoted extensively across social media. The project was located about 30 minutes south-west of Bali.
Billed as a luxury waterfront retirement villa community, the development was repeatedly hit by delays and other setbacks. Investors said they received little information about the progress of the properties they had been promised.
In June, some structures were demolished after reportedly being built in the wrong location. Investors also told police they believed their money had been transferred into bank accounts in various countries. No charges have been filed over the development, while the Mail has sought an update on the Indonesian police investigation.
The dispute has since escalated into a bitter cross-border war of accusations, unfolding through the media as well as Australian and Indonesian court proceedings.
A Federal Court judgment last month found Thailand-based businessman Adrian Campbell had misled the court and “substantially downplayed” his criminal history while seeking suppression orders against former business partner Jamie McIntyre
Campbell and McIntyre were involved in Marina Bay Lombok, a property project about 30 minutes south-west of Bali that was heavily promoted on social media
Thailand-based Adrian Campbell portrays himself as an entrepreneur focused on improving people’s lives through “innovative and impactful ventures”
McIntyre has accused Campbell of using Australian media outlets as part of a coordinated public relations effort against him. Reports about the dispute have frequently highlighted McIntyre’s 10-year ban from managing corporations imposed by ASIC, while Campbell’s own record of multiple Australian consumer law convictions had not previously received the same attention.
In May, Campbell obtained urgent takedown orders over what he described as a “disinformation campaign” allegedly orchestrated by McIntyre. The material included several articles accusing Campbell of “fraud and misconduct”, “misappropriation of money” and other criminal conduct.
Campbell rejected the allegations as “defamatory and misleading or deceptive”, claiming they had cost him $25 million in contracts.
In an affidavit filed to support his application for the interim suppression orders, Campbell swore that he had “never been the subject of any criminal prosecution in Australia, for business practices or anything else”. He also stated that he had never been convicted of a criminal offence.
He additionally told the court that he had not been involved in a case in 2018 and had never been ordered to pay $500,000 in fines and compensation.
Three months later, Campbell amended his evidence, acknowledging that he had in fact faced criminal prosecutions and been convicted on several occasions.
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The Federal Court’s judgment last month detailed Campbell’s admissions about his criminal record, which reaches back to 2012, when he was convicted of fraud-related 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.