Perth billionaire Laurence Escalante has faced court on serious charges after being accused of attacking his ex-partner after breaking into her home.

WA Police dramatically raided Mr Escalante’s residence — which cannot be revealed amid fears he will be targeted or even abducted due to his vast fortune — on Thursday before detaining him in a police lock up overnight.

He allegedly broke into the 24-year-old woman’s home on Monday night — the Australia Day public holiday — attacked her and stole luxury items.

Police have also charged Mr Escalante with persistently engaging in family violence, allegedly committed between June 2025 and January 2026.

They also claim he had cocaine, MDMA and ketamine in trafficable quantities when they raided his dwelling, and charged him with three counts of possessing drugs with intent to sell or supply.

Mr Escalante stood behind a security screen on Thursday, flanked by guards and wearing a black puffer jacket despite warm temperatures.

Magistrate Elaine Campione imposed a strict restraining order preventing him from contacting the alleged victim directly or indirectly, by “pigeon, letter, any means whatsoever”.

Mr Escalante is the creator and boss of Virtual Gaming Worlds, behind online gambling brands including Chumba Casino and Global Poker, and has amassed a fortune to $4.5 billion, according to the latest Financial Review Rich List.

A VGW spokesperson confirmed the company was aware of the charges.

“These are unrelated to VGW and personal in nature,” they said.

“However, we can confirm Mr Escalante will be taking a leave of absence from his role as CEO and executive chairman of VGW.

“In the interim, we have installed experienced leadership from our existing executive team to take on those responsibilities and it remains business as usual for VGW.

“The company takes any allegations of this nature extremely seriously. As this is a private matter and remains before the courts, we cannot comment further.”