Macau’s Court of Second Instance (TSI) has upheld ex-junket king Alvin Chau’s 18-year prison sentence for gambling crimes in the city, but acquitted him and six co-defendants on charges of fraud.
However, the TSI increased the amount owed by Chau and other defendants to almost HK$25 billion (US$3.1 billion), payable to the taxman and five of the city’s six gaming concessionaires (with Melco excluded).
The 49-year-old Chau made a fortune running the now-defunct Suncity Group, once Macau’s biggest junket operator. Junkets make their money by facilitating casino visits by high rollers; arranging their credit lines; organizing accommodations and transportation; and collecting on losses.
Suncity operated with impunity for years, but met its downfall as Beijing and the local government cracked down on money laundering, capital flight and cross-border gambling, much of it tied to the mainland Chinese VIP segment.
In January, Chau was tried alongside 20 co-defendants and found guilty of some 290 criminal offenses including organized crime, fraud and illegal gaming, including facilitating under-the-table and online bets.
Asia Gaming Brief reports Suncity accepted “multiplier” bets, in which wagers placed at a physical gaming table represented a private bet that could be that wager multiplied many times. Through the scheme, Suncity avoided paying the effective tax rate on gross gaming revenue (GGR).
Chau was ordered to pay more than HK$8.6 billion in compensation—HK$6.52 billion to the Macau government for taxes lost between 2014 and 2021, and more than HK$2.15 billion in lost revenues to the five operators.
But with the dismissal of fraud charges, he and six co-defendants are off the hook for HKD8.67 billion (US$1.08 billion) in damages.
Others acquitted of fraud in the case are Celestino Ali, Cheong Chi Kin, Chau Chun Hee, Lou Seak Fong, Philip Wong Pak Ling and Leong Su Weng, reported Inside Asian Gaming. Of those, four had their sentences reduced from 15 to 12 years and 6 months, namely, Celestino Ali, Cheong Chi Kin, Chau Chun Hee and Philip Wong Pak Ling.
The VIP crackdown hobbled a once-dominant industry in Macau. Only 36 junket companies are currently registered to do business in the city, down from 200-plus junkets in 2013.
Suncity is no longer an operating entity, and the city’s second-largest junket, Tak Chun Group, also collapsed after the arrest and imprisonment of its CEO, Levo Chan. Like Chau, he was charged with illegal gambling and participating in a criminal syndicate, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison in January.
The Suncity defendants can still appeal to Macau’s Court of Final Appeal.
