The trial against the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Suncity Group, Alvin Chau, has been scheduled for 2:45 PM on September 2nd, 2022 and will take place at the Court of First Instance. Mr. Chau and 20 other defendants are set to face more than 200 charges, including fraud and money laundering.
Reportedly, however, the trial is likely to be put off as it is expected that some of the defendants who are currently residing in mainland China may be absent from the courtroom. Mr. Chau will be represented by attorney Kuong Kuok On, but reports say he has multiple lawyers by his side.
As CasinoGamesPro previously reported, one of the most famous junket operators’ executives, Alvin Chau, was arrested in November 2021 after an investigation held by the Macau authorities found that he took part in serious crimes involving the operations of Suncity Group. Now, he is facing a large number and variety of charges, including illegal gambling, participating in and leading a criminal organization, money laundering, fraud, etc. Mr. Chau has been arrested and is still held in prison awaiting his trial to begin.
It is not uncommon for trials featuring many defendants to be postponed as some defendants do not present themselves before the court. In this case, in particular, a few of the 20 defendants are now detained in prisons in mainland China. For the time being, it remains unknown whether the court would see that as a basis for the trial proceedings to begin or be put off. In case reasonable excuses are presented by defendants for their absence, the court can decide to go on with the proceedings in absentia.
Alleged Wrongdoings of Mr. Chau Resulted in Serious Gambling Crackdown in Macau
According to the probe, the criminal scheme of Suncity Group involved more than 60,000 agents across Asia, with these people helping residents of mainland China go on luxurious gambling vacations in Macau and other destinations across the continent.
The charges faced by the former CEO of Suncity Group also indicated that the unlawful gambling operations Mr. Chau was heading have deprived the largest global gambling hub of tax revenue of approximately $1 billion in the period between 2013 and 2021, as patrons were allowed to make bets on the table and doubled them with bets under the table – a practice that brought much bigger profits for the junket operator.
The scandalous revelations involving Alvin Chau triggered a serious crackdown from the Macau Government on so-called junkets, as well as a major overhaul of the Macau Gaming Law. Under the new regulations, the existence and operation of VIP rooms were ended, and the length of operators’ licenses was reduced from 20 to 10 years.
As a result of Mr. Chau’s arrest in November last year, Suncuty Group decided to alter its name to Leisure Entertainment Taste (LET) Group in order to distance itself from the scandal, which led to some of the most serious regulatory overhauls seen by Macau over the last few years. The group also ceased the operations of its junket business following Chau’s resignation from the positions of CEO and chairman of the company. The CEO job was eventually occupied by Andrew Lo Kai Bong.
