Character witnesses lined up last week to testify on behalf of Levo Chan, the former head of Macau junket operator the Tak Chun Group.
Chan and eight co-defendants are on trial at Macau’s Court of First Instance on charges that include illegal gambling, money laundering and running an illicit criminal organization. According to GGRAsia, they are also charged with defrauding the Macau government and the city’s casino concessionaires of rightful revenues.
Among the character witnesses were António José de Freitas, president of the board of trustees at the Macau Holy House of Mercy, who said Chan supported the charity as well as locally based educational initiatives for many years.
Lok Hei, president of a city arts association, said Chan has been “very supportive” of arts and cultural activities in Macau, and supported an organization to help fund local artists’ work spaces.
Macau businessman Vong Kok Seng said Chan’s Tak Chun Charity Association was involved in a number of “philanthropic” ventures in the Chinese gambling capital and continued to operate through the pandemic.
Chan was arrested by Macau police in January 2022, less than two months after the arrest and detention of his business rival, junket head Alvin Chau. Last month, Chau was convicted of similar crimes and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
The testimony followed evidence against Chan that included police-wiretapped telephone conversations that prosecutors say proves that Chan facilitated illegal betting, including taking under-the-table bets.
The Judiciary Police estimate that, from 2014 to 2020, Chan’s operation generated HKD34.9 billion (US$4.45 billion) in rolling chip turnover from illicit wagers and took at least HKD1.50 billion of that in profits, tax-free.
A witness for the prosecution, Macau Judiciary Police investigator Mak Chon Kit, said among the recorded conversations is one in which Chan implicates himself in the illegal bets.
“In these calls, you can always hear a man briefing Chan about some under-table bet deals, about the clients, and discussing what multiples and conditions to arrange for the games. Then Mr. Chan would give instructions and also talked of the revenue split.”
The trial continues.
