Alvin Chau is the founder and former CEO of Suncity, a company specializing in the junket sector in Macau .
During November 2021, he was arrested by the police along with some of his key collaborators.
After a trial that also included 20 other defendants, he was ultimately found guilty of illegal gambling and fraud.
However, money laundering charges were not brought against him.
An illegal betting system called a multiplier
The trial against Alvin Chau and 20 other defendants began on September 2, 2022. Judge Lou Ieng Ha of the Macau Court of First Instance finally handed down the sentence on Wednesday, January 18.
According to him, the accusation of participation in a criminal organization had indeed been substantiated against Alvin Chau and several of his collaborators.
The legal proceedings had successfully proven that the businessman was the leader of a group operating an illegal betting system in Macau aimed at high-rollers, which is often referred to as a multiplier.
To do this, simply place a bet several times higher than the officially registered bet. This allows you to partially circumvent the 39% tax that weighs on the gross revenue of Macau casinos.
As a result, the judge recognized that the Suncity group had indeed defrauded the government of the former Portuguese colony and the six licensed operators.
>>> Also read: » Alvin Chau’s trial will begin on September 2, 2022 «
Macau government loses 970 million euros in tax revenue
Throughout his trial, Alvin Chau consistently maintained his innocence. According to his lawyers, the Suncity group was prosperous enough to avoid the need for such an illegal process.
It’s worth noting that the company accounted for roughly 25% of the VIP market revenue in the world’s leading casino capital. In 2014 alone, for example, this amounted to approximately $11 billion, which even exceeded the gross gaming revenue of the entire state of Nevada over the same period!
As a result, Suncity’s illegal activities are estimated to have cost the Macau government around HK$8.2 billion in tax revenue between 2013 and 2021, or approximately €970 million.
Alvin Chau gets 18-year prison sentence
Alvin Chau, 48, was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Macau Court of First Instance. Along with the other defendants, he must also pay HK$6.5 billion in civil compensation to the Macau government and a total of more than HK$2 billion to five of the six casino operators in the Chinese special administrative region.
The defendants can challenge this decision by filing an appeal with the lower court within 20 days. It is known that Alvin Chau’s (Pedro Leal) lawyer has already advised him to do so.
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