Cambodia’s Supreme Court has not shown leniency in the case of a labor union leader who organized one of the longest-running strikes against the country’s biggest casino, with the detainee, Chhim Sithar, alleging that NagaWorld laid off workers illegally and attempted to bust the union’s efforts to fight back.

No Reprieve for Determined Union Labor Leader

The Supreme Court found Sithar, president of the Labor Right Supports Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, to have acted against the law, upholding his two-year prison sentence originally meted out in May 2023. Sithar was brought up on charges of incitement to commit a felony, and the court has now upheld the sentence, meaning that Sithar will have to serve out his sentence.

Sithar was the driving force behind the protests that erupted in December 2021, protesting mass layoffs at the NagaWorld Casino in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh and was finally arrested in January 2022, after refusing to back down and tell union workers to go home. NagaCorp has since recovered, demonstrating strong growth.

NagaWorld fired 373 employees as the casino faced the financial pinch of the pandemic and lack of tourists, which significantly depressed operational results and brought business to a standstill. Despite Sithar’s arrest, though, many of the fired workers continue to rally and protest both her incarceration and sentence, as well as the way NagaWorld and Cambodia’s legal system have treated the case.

Yet, some have opted out of settlements with the company, and some 200 ex-workers have already accepted settlements. Yet, others have not been so lucky. Sithar may have been dubbed a “ringleader” by the court, but she is not alone, as eight of her fellow union workers have also been handed down 18-month prison sentences as well.

Illegal Detention and Human Rights Champion

Sithar though is unlikely to be released earlier. She will end her sentence term later this year. She is also the recipient of the US Department of State Human Rights Defender Award and this distinction comes at a time when the United States has warned that doing business in Cambodia could pose significant risk to investors, alleging that corruption ran deep in the state.

Cambodia has vehemently denied these accusations.  Yet, the fate of Sithar is no way to assuage concerns about underhand practices that favor powerful businesses over citizens. NagaWorld began operations in 1994 and the casino is owned by the powerful Malaysian billionaire Chen Lip Keong and his family.

The post Cambodia Upholds Prison Sentence for Casino Worker Leader appeared first on Keno Wizard.

A Spanish police officer has been sentenced for embezzling money to gamble. The man will now serve a five-month suspended prison sentence and a 10-month disqualification period.

The incident happened in 2020 when the man and his team cracked down on an illegal drug operation. At the scene, the officer and his colleagues seized bags of marijuana and almost $10,000 in cash.

Instead of safeguarding the cash found at the scene, the officer decided to appropriate it when his colleagues were not looking. Eight hours later, the man proceeded to treat himself at a local casino with the money he embezzled. To make matters worse, the police officer hit a streak of losses, eventually returning home with none of the cash he had hoped to earn. 

The police later asked the man to return the seized items. After he handed only the drugs, his suspicious colleagues reported the incident, leading to an investigation into the matter. In the end, the police officer’s crime came to light.

The man was able to return the money, which, luckily for him, was a major mitigating factor, leading to a much lighter sentence. As a result, he was only handed a suspended sentence. However, the prosecution can still try to appeal the decision.

More Recent Criminal Activities in the Gambling Sector

In other news, Binance Holdings, the world’s largest crypto exchange, admitted to violating anti-money laundering regulations in the United States. The company intentionally focused on profits, neglecting its AML responsibilities. As a result of its guilty plea, Binance will have to pay $4 billion to resolve the investigation.

Changpeng Zhao, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, resigned from his position as a result of the case. 

Elsewhere, a fatal shooting occurred at Osage Casino & Hotel in the United States where an alleged car and credit card thief tried to escape from the police. According to reports from local news outlets, the man was fatally shot by a bystander while he was trying to escape with a car and dragging a police officer who had been trying to stop him across the pavement.

The identities of the deceased person and the shooter are yet to be revealed as of the time of this writing.

The post Spanish Police Officer Took Crime Scene Money to Gamble, Got a Sentence   appeared first on Keno Wizard.

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.

The post Macau Court Confirms Ex-Junket King Chau Prison Sentence appeared first on Keno Wizard.

A Finnish influencer and content creator has been slapped with a suspended jail sentence for promoting illegal gambling in the country. The online celebrity will also be forced to forfeit tens of thousands of dollars in assets because of his violation.

The influencer in question is none other than Lauri Kangas, better known by his alias Lateksituppi. He boasts a large following on the Amazon-owned streaming site Twitch where he streams gambling content.

However, local authorities found out that Lateksituppi promoted games not offered by the Finnish gambling monopoly, Veikkaus Oy. In addition, he promoted illegal products, such as instant casino games, across his social media accounts.

Since this is a violation of the rules outlined in Finland’s Lotteries Act, Lateksituppi was taken to court.

The Streamer Received a Suspended Sentence

The court concluded that Lateksituppi’s content specifically targeted Finnish players since his streams were in Finnish and designed to appeal to local audiences. This also applies to his social media channels, which promoted illegal gambling content to Finns.

For reference, the celebrity has a following of over 61,000 people on Instagram

Because of the overwhelming evidence of his violations, Lateksituppi was handed a 50-day suspended prison sentence. While he will be spared jail for now, further violations might cause him to serve the sentence.

In addition to the threat of having to go to jail, Lateksituppi will also be forced to forfeit thousands of dollars in assets. At first, the prosecution wanted him to pay EUR 69,313 (around $74,729). However, the court eventually settled for an asset forfeiture of EUR 51,300 (around $55,308).

Lateksituppi Is Likely Unimpressed

It is uncertain whether this sentence will impress or upset Lateksituppi, who was described as arrogant by local news outlets. Not only did the streamer arrive at the district court in a golden SUV but he also parked it in spaces reserved for the police.

In addition, reports claim that he was rude and that he mocked the people who sued him on his social media channel. The gambling celebrity allegedly slammed his court adversaries by saying that they will never be as rich as he has gotten by promoting unlicensed gambling in Finland. Lateksituppi bragged about making the same money some people make in years by simply lying around and playing games that are illegal in the country.

In other news, Finland recently fined BML Group, which breached its advertising rules.

The post Finnish Streamer Receives Suspended Jail Sentence after Promoting Illegal Gambling appeared first on Keno Wizard.

Two women from Moreno Valley, California, have been given life imprisonment without parole for the murder of 84-year-old Afaf Assad at Pechanga Resort Casino in 2019. 

Victim’s Family Seeks Justice as Women Receive Life Sentence for Elderly Murder

Kimesha Monae Williams, aged 39, and Candace Tai Townsel, aged 42, were convicted in February this year of murder, robbery, and elder abuse. The murder was aggravated by the crimes of theft and mistreatment of the old woman, resulting in a life sentence for both women. The sentences for robbery and elder abuse were stayed as part of the single act that led to the murder of Assad.

The Mercury News reported that during the sentencing at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley on April 21, 2023, Mary Assad, the victim’s daughter, delivered an impact statement, saying that this had been a painful journey through the court justice system. She said that she could not believe her mother was the victim of such a violent crime. The family was seeking a reckoning for the heinous act committed by the two women, but not vengeance.

Kimesha Monae Williams, in a statement read to the court by her attorney, expressed her condolences and stated that she had not killed anyone. She added that the court found her guilty of the charges, but the truth was known to God. Townsel did not make any statement.

The statement made by Williams did not move Superior Court Judge Timothy F. Freer. The judge said that the idea that neither Williams nor Townsel were responsible for the death of a human being was laughable. 

Calls for Greater Security Measures After Elderly Murder at Pechanga Resort Casino

Judge Freer further mentioned that the victim, who had lived a long life, did not deserve to be violently murdered in a casino. He added that she was left on a bathroom floor with her head exploding. Several family members and friends of the victim wiped tears and sobbed as Freer pronounced the life sentence without parole.

The Riverside County District Attorney, Mike Hestrin, did not seek the death penalty. This case has attracted significant attention in California, and the sentences are expected to send a strong message to criminals who target the elderly. 

The incident at the Pechanga Resort Casino has raised concerns regarding the safety of senior citizens who visit such places. There have been calls for greater security measures and more robust screening processes for visitors to prevent future occurrences.

The post Two Women Receive Life Sentence for Elderly Murder at Pechanga Resort Casino appeared first on Keno Wizard.