Macau’s Court of Final Appeal has upheld a prison sentence for former Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau of 18 years, rejecting his appeal to shorten the term. This comes at the end of a closely watched case that has had major implications for Macau’s casino industry.

Macau Court Denies Appeals by Chau and Eight Other Defendants

The court confirmed on July 3 in an in-camera hearing the initial ruling handed down in January last year, which found Chau guilty of criminal association, illegal gambling, and money laundering, reported the Macau Daily Times. Eight other defendants connected to the same case also had their appeals denied, keeping their sentences between nine and 12-and-a-half years.

Chau was convicted of making illegal gains through money laundering and illegal gambling activities. The court found that he and his associates brought in HKD24.87 billion ($3.18 billion) from these activities, which must be returned to the Macau government as ill-gotten gains.

His legal saga began when he was arrested by Macau authorities in November 2021 on charges including leading a criminal syndicate and being involved in illicit gambling operations. After several months of trial at the Court of First Instance, Chau was found guilty on 103 out of 229 charges related to gambling. Some were dropped because they exceeded the statute of limitations while another 59 were added on top of them. Chau was acquitted on charges linked to money laundering.

Court Decision Reinforces Government’s Commitment to Crackdown on Junket Industry

The final sentence remained unchanged despite multiple appeals, including one for clemency addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping where he portrayed himself as a pivotal figure who transformed Macau into a global tourism hub. The Court of Second Instance scrapped his fraud conviction but jacked up the amount that should be paid back by Chau.

Attempts by the prosecution to reinstate fraud charges against him and seek tougher penalties failed too. 

However, this decision cements the hard Macau government stance taken towards Chau and others involved. It further underscores the clampdown against the junket industry and the crackdown on illegal gambling operations being carried out within Macao SAR borders.

Chau’s fall from grace reflects wider crackdowns on capital flight facilitated via junket operators as well as money laundering by Mainland Chinese authorities. Following his detention, Suncity Group – formerly Asia’s largest junket operator – was exposed to significant risks arising out of these activities leading to its shutdown.The case has also triggered sweeping changes across Macau’s casino sector with stricter regulations being put in place coupled with increased oversight mechanisms.

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In January, the 49-year-old founder and chief executive officer of casino junket Suncity Group Ltd., Alvin Chau, was indicted for fraud, criminal association, money laundering, and illegal gaming. Some 20 other people were indicted for the same crimes. 

While the former CEO was not convicted of money laundering at the Court of First Instance, he was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison in aggregate. He was acquitted of fraud charges along with a few other defendants, thus getting rid of the obligation to pay HKD8.67 billion ($1.08 billion) to the Macau government as well as several casino operators in the city.

Now, according to a ruling from the Court of Second Instance issued at the end of last week, the sentences for nine defendants have been maintained in relation to proxy betting, illicit gambling, under-the-table betting, and criminal association. Mr Chau’s prison sentence has also been confirmed. 

Aggravated Money Laundering Charges

The former Junket King, along with Suncity Group’s head of finance department, Philip Wong Pak Ling, were convicted on charges of aggravated money laundering. The two, together with seven other defendants, were told they would need to pay a compensation of close to HKD25.51 billion ($3.25 billion) to the Macau government for gains drawn from illegal forms of gambling as well as from the profits they generated through money laundering activities.

According to the most recent court ruling, the group ruled by Mr Chau obtained little over HKD17.66 billion ($2.25 billion) in illicit gains from “under the table” betting, and around HKD7.21 billion ($921 million) from proxy betting. Together with Mr Wong and Cheung Ling Ling, the founder of the group allegedly obtained profits of nearly HKD617.0 million ($78 million) and CNY17.0 million (US$2.3 million) in profits using money laundering.

In January, Ms Cheung was acquitted by the lower court. Now, the Court of Second Instance sentenced her to five years in prison for her role of co-conspirator in relation to the said charges of money laundering. Ms Cheung, who was controlling Suncity Group’s assets, had also received a prison sentence in Wenzhou, mainland China, in a process connected to allegations regarding the same group. 

In September 2022, Wenzhou People’s Intermediate Court fined Ms Cheung CNY800,000 ($112,700) and sentenced her to spend seven years in jail for illegal business operations and the “establishing casino” crime. At the time, Ms Cheung accepted the sentence and said she would not ask for an appeal.

Finally, the sentences of four of the defendants were cut from 15 to 12-and-a-half years, according to last week’s ruling. The defendants are still allowed to appeal to Macau’s Court of Final Appeal.

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