Illegal World Cup bets scheme goes to court from today

Paul Phua

The trial involving a group of 15 people, including Malaysian businessman Paul Phua, known for his connections to the gambling underworld starts today, Radio Macau reported.

The defendants are accused of running and exploiting an illegal betting scheme during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and according to the prosecution, they profited about HKD5 billion in just one week of operations.
According to the reports when the scheme was unveiled, the group was running the illegal betting scheme from Paul’s luxury Villa at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The case was unveiled after some staff at Caesars Palace were suspicious over a large number of computers installed in one of the villas, which the hotel reserves for high-rollers.
The group of defendants are from Hong Kong, China and Malaysia and also includes Darren Phua, Paul’s son.

Paul was released from jail about one year after being arrested, after a federal magistrate judge in Las Vegas agreed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) used false and misleading information to obtain a search warrant for the villa and recommended that the U.S. be barred from using contraband found during the police raid at Caesars Palace.

Regarding the case, the U.S. authorities said earlier that through the analysis of the computers and mobile phones found at the villa, it was possible to ascertain that the bets were being processed through the equipment installed in Las Vegas and that the funds received were being transferred to accounts overseas, namely in Southeast Asia.