Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau attends an event in Macau on Nov. 29, 2020 (AP Photo, File)
The founder of Macau’s once-biggest casino junket organizer was sentenced today (Wednesday) to 18 years in jail after being convicted of operating illegal gaming activities, running a criminal organization, and numerous other charges.
Alvin Chau, former chairman of Suncity Group, was arrested in the city in November 2021 shortly after Chinese authorities issued an arrest warrant for him based on accusations that he ran an illegal cross-border gambling syndicate with others.
Junket operators such as Suncity were a key part of Macau’s gaming industry over decades. They helped facilitate gambling for high rollers outside the SAR, including arranging travel services and extending credit for them.
Public prosecutors (MP) accused Chau and some co-defendants of running a syndicate that caused a loss of about MOP10 billion in tax revenue to the city’s government between 2013 and 2021. They were alleged to have made illegitimate profits through operating side-betting activities. Chau faced nearly 290 charges in one of the gambling hub’s biggest criminal cases in years.
In handing down the verdict, the judge noted that Chau’s defense lawyer tried to prove Chau had not participated in the side-betting activities but she concluded such operations would not have been possible without Chau’s approval.
The judge acquitted Chau of money laundering.
The court ordered Chau and some co-defendants to pay the government MOP6.5 billion and financially compensate various casino operators.
The junket sector slumped after Chau’s arrest, with Suncity shutting its VIP rooms. In January last year, the police also arrested Levo Chan, a former boss of another leading junket business, for allegedly running illegal gambling operations.
The casino hub is ramping up for a tourism and casino recovery after China eases its COVID-19 restrictions in recent weeks. In 2022, its gambling revenues were halved to USD5.3 billion from a year earlier.
(Developing story)
MDT
