Loui says what Kao "and his cabal did was wrong," distancing Navatek from him
Steven LouiFounder of Navatek, in a statement to ProPublica
Steven Loui, who founded Navatek and later regained control of the company after selling it to Martin Kao, said Kao's approach to winning contracts was unethical and illegal and a departure from how he ran the company before selling it, and said Navatek received no Collins-supported funding after Kao's arrest.
“The company received no Collins-supported funding after Martin Kao's arrest, nor should it. What Martin Kao and his cabal did was wrong.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Susan Collins Trade Federal Contract Support for Navatek Campaign Donations?
Former Navatek chief executive Martin Kao told FBI agents that Susan Collins and people around her knowingly participated in an arrangement connecting campaign support to federal-contract assistance. Collins's office, an FBI spokesperson and several participants dispute that account. Criminal proceedings and an FEC settlement established illegal contributions by Navatek-linked actors, but no public charge or court finding establishes that Collins knowingly joined a quid pro quo.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Anchor investigation reporting previously undisclosed FBI cooperation interviews, internal company emails, campaign and lobbying communications, and responses from Collins's office, the FBI, Scott Reed, Glen Mandigo, Andy Winer and Steven Loui. The article says Kao had credibility incentives and that no one working for Collins was charged.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Loui sold Navatek to Kao and later regained control of the company after Kao's arrest, renaming it PacMar.
After the quotation
Loui's statement did not address whether Collins or her office were aware of the arrangement Kao described.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Loui condemns Kao's individual conduct and distances the company he founded from it, but does not address whether Collins herself was aware of or complicit in the arrangement. This reframes the wrongdoing as Kao's alone rather than directly evaluating Collins's conduct, so it challenges the scope of the allegation rather than condemning or excusing Collins.
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- People and groups discussed
- Martin Kao
More from this case
Read the full caseCollins calls the Navatek allegations completely false
“The allegations are completely false ... We have a picture of his meeting with me and with other people in my office that is many months before he ever made a single contribution ... He spun this story up again in the hopes that the judge would be lenient, or the prosecutor would be.”Read statement
Abbott says a photo disproves the claim that Kao had to donate before meeting Collins
“ProPublica has the theory that Martin Kao, based on Martin Kao's word, had to make a donation before he could get in to see Susan Collins. As you can see from that picture, it's not true”Read statement
Collins campaign says it has no record of Collins calling Kao to thank him
“Neither Susan Collins nor anyone who worked for her believes that she made a call”Read statement
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- Loui says what Kao "and his cabal did was wrong," distancing Navatek from him
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The Dispute Index. "Loui says what Kao "and his cabal did was wrong," distancing Navatek from him". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1521-steven-loui-who-founded-navatek-and-later-regained