Macau’s Public Prosecutions Office (MP) has issued indictments against 21 suspects, including Suncity CEO Alvin Chau, arrested late last year for alleged criminal association, illegal gambling and money laundering, Inside Asian Gaming has learned.
Sources said Thursday that the legal team representing the suspects in the case has received the indictment, with the case likely to be scheduled for trial in court “shortly”.
Although the MP will not publicly release the contents of the indictment, the source said “criminal association” charges would be one of the main charges during the trial.
IAG has also been told that the indictment contains a significant amount of evidence and it is believed the suspects’ legal team will need some time to analyze its contents. Although the indictment is voluminous, the case will be tried “in June or July,” the source said.
According to local laws surrounding the investigation period in criminal proceedings in Macau, the permitted period is generally six or eight months. If the suspect is detained, the investigation period is usually six months but can be extended to eight months for specific serious crimes.
Chau was one of 11 people arrested by Macau’s Judiciary Police and one of six subsequently transferred to Coloane Prison to await trial in late November 2021. Suncity officially announced the cessation of its junket business in early December, while Chau also stepped down as Chairman of the listed company of the same name, Suncity Group, which holds significant interests in integrated resort developments in Vietnam, Russia and the Philippines.
