Alvin Chau, the former “junket king” of Macau’s casinos, has been given an 18-year prison term for running an illegal gambling operation, bringing to a conclusion a criminal trial that stunned the casino city and resulted in the downfall of one of its most prominent gaming magnates.
The 48-year-old founder of Suncity Group, Chau, invented the junket sector that attracted high rollers from the gambling-illegal mainland of China to Macau, the only region in the nation where casinos are permitted to operate. Rich mainland gamblers were given credit by the junket operators, who then collected their debts on behalf of the casinos.
Chau has been accused by the prosecution of 289 charges of fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling.
Judge Lou Ieng Ha found Chau guilty of fraud, leading a criminal organization, and running unlawful bets on Wednesday, but cleared him of the charge of money laundering.
The judge ruled that Suncity under Chau’s direction had “conducted illicit gambling for unlawful gains for a long time.”
The trial, which started in September, focused on alleged under-the-table bets totaling 824 billion Hong Kong dollars ($105 billion) over the course of eight years, which allegedly caused Macau to lose more than 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($128 million) in tax income.
At its height in the 2010s, the former Portuguese colony, which had a pre-pandemic casino industry larger than Las Vegas, owed the majority of its gaming income to junkets.
Along with 20 other defendants, Chau was charged with arranging proxy betting so that Chinese gamblers may wager remotely at casinos located in Southeast Asia.
The defense accepted the existence of under-the-table gambling in Macau but emphasized the absence of specific evidence linking Chau, Suncity executives, or staff members to it.
The fall of Chau came at the same time as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s years-long anti-corruption campaign, which has included far greater surveillance of corrupt officials who would visit Macau to place bets and launder money.
The “junket model”
Speaking before the court in December, Chau said that in more than ten years of running VIP rooms at casinos all around the world, his business had never encountered legal issues.
Chau reportedly added, “I don’t know why [Suncity] is considered a criminal syndicate.”
“My coworkers haven’t received a penny of criminal proceeds yet,” We have never given extra remuneration for unlawful behavior.
When Wenzhou, on the mainland, authorities issued a warrant for Chau’s arrest for operating an illegal gambling ring, Chau’s legal troubles started. He and other senior firm executives were subsequently detained by Macau authorities two days later, but they opted to file local charges instead, citing an ongoing investigation that was headquartered in the city.
The legal system of Macau is distinct from that on the Chinese mainland and is mostly based on Portuguese law. A Wenzhou court found 36 people associated with Chau and Suncity guilty in September on charges that partially overlapped the Macau case.
Following the arrests, Suncity closed all of its VIP rooms, and several other casino owners did the same, with some also claiming COVID-related financial concerns.
As the government reinforced its regulatory authority with Beijing’s support, which took the shape of a legislation amendment last June, the closures signaled a change in the casino business in Macau.
Levo Chan Weng Lin, a well-known junket leader and Chau’s former adversary, is also facing separate charges of fraud, money laundering, and running a criminal organization.
Gaming consultant David Green told the AFP news agency that “the junket model was one of the major movers for money laundering for as long as it was dominant.”
The possibility of being judged jointly accountable with the junkets for their crimes is too great for the casinos to bear.
The court has been urged to grant damages for revenue losses attributable to Suncity by casino owners Wynn Macau, SJM Holdings, MGM China, Sands China, and Galaxy Entertainment Group.
