Cheung Chi-tai, once a major shareholder in one of Macau’s biggest junket operators, faces three separate charges of money laundering in the world’s premier gaming destination.
The 54-year-old Hong Kong resident has been the subject of a lengthy investigation by law enforcement, according to Reuters. He reportedly laundered HK$1.8 billion (US$231 million) through the Bank of China and Chong Hing Bank. Cheung was previously associated with the Neptune Group; the junket operator said Cheung is not presently a shareholder and has no present link to the company.
According to the Associated Press, in November, officials granted a court order freezing his assets under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
In 2014, Cheung was named in the money laundering case of former Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung in 2014, and was identified in a 1992 U.S. Senate committee investigation as a top lieutenant of the Wo Hop To triad group. A Reuters 2010 special report also found links between Cheung and organized criminal gangs or triads and a casino run by Las Vegas Sands in Macau.
Cheung was released on HK$200,000 bail and is due back in court in September.
