Former Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau was found guilty on multiple charges by the Macau Court of First Instance on Wednesday and was sentenced to 18 years in prison, although one of his lawyers, Pedro Leal, said he would advise his client to appeal.
There were 21 defendants in the case, of which 13 were convicted and four suspended. Chau, the first defendant in the case, was arrested by the Macau Judiciary Police in November 2021 and has been detained in Coloane Prison ever since. He was charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office with criminal association, 229 counts of illegal gambling in a licensed premises, 54 counts of substantial fraud, plus illegal gambling and money laundering.
The 229 counts of illegal gambling in a permitted area were classified as “betting under the table”.
The judge said that 126 of the charges had been dismissed as the period for criminal prosecution had expired.
He eventually convicted Chau on a number of counts, including:
- 12 years for triad offences
- 1 year and 6 months for each of 103 counts of unlawful operation of gambling in a licensed premises (betting under the table)
- 5 years for each of 54 counts of substantial fraud (defrauding the government and concessionaires)
- 3 years for each of three counts of attempted substantial fraud
- 2 years and 6 months for illegal gambling (telephone betting)
- Not guilty of money laundering
Chau’s total sentence came to 448 years in prison, however because of locals laws regarding combined punishment for several crimes, the judge settled on a final sentence of 18 years in prison.
In response, Chau’s lawyer, Leal, said, “I do not agree with the court’s decision and believe that there is insufficient evidence to prove the case. I will communicate with my client and advise them to appeal.”
The full sentences of the 21 defendants were as follows:
| Defendant | Name | Sentence |
| 1 | Alvin Chau | 18 years |
| 2 | Si Tou Chi Hou | 10 years |
| 3 | Cheung Yat Ping Ellute | 10 years |
| 4 | Ali Celestino | 15 years |
| 5 | Cheong Chi Kin | 15 years |
| 6 | Chau Chun Hee | 15 years |
| 7 | Lou Seak Fong | 14 years |
| 8 | Wong Pak Ling Philip | 15 years |
| 9 | Cheung Ling Ling | Not guilty |
| 10 | Ho Cheng | 7 months suspended |
| 11 | Leong Su Weng | 9 years |
| 12 | Loi Vincent | 7 months suspended |
| 13 | Au Wang Tong | 7 months suspended |
| 14 | Su Yiming | Not guilty |
| 15 | Su Chuhao | Not guilty |
| 16 | Su Jiarong | Not guilty |
| 17 | Lam Tsz Chi | Not guilty |
| 18 | Li Siu Chung | Not guilty |
| 19 | Pang Kexun | Not guilty |
| 20 | Dang Yonggang | 5 months suspended |
| 21 | Zhou Yongjun | Not guilty |
In the civil claim, Alvin Chau, Ali Celestino, Cheong Chi Kin, Cheong Chi Kin, Lou Seak Fong, Wong Pak Ling Philip and Leong Su Weng were ordered to pay HK$6.5 billion (US$831 million) in damages to the Macau SAR Government. They are also required to pay compensation to five concessionaires: Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group, MGM China, Sands China and SJM Resorts.
On all the charges, the court noted, “The Chairman of the Suncity Group, Alvin Chau and Cheong Chi Kin collaborated in “betting under the table”. Alvin Chau was aware that Cheong Chi Kin was betting under the table in the [VIP rooms] of Suncity. Witnesses also pointed out that the money earned by the betting under the table company would be deposited into the accounts of Suncity.
“A total of 68,000 records from Suncity’s server related to betting under the table in 229 rooms, and the court accepted the prosecution’s evidence that Alvin Chau and some of the suspects had committed 229 counts of illegal gambling in licensed premises.”
In relation to online gambling, the court held that “according to police information, even though Suncity had an online gambling license in the Philippines, the court found that it had jurisdiction over it because there was evidence that Suncity was promoting online gambling in Macau.
“Although Alvin Chau claimed to have suspended telephone betting in 2019, he continued to operate telephone betting services in secret … Alvin Chau promoted illegal betting activities in Macau without the approval of the Macau government.”
In relation to gaming revenue fraud, the court held that “betting under the table is an unlawful activity and that Alvin Chau and others used the resources of the six concessionaires to covertly conduct illegal betting activities and evade gaming taxes, causing losses to the gaming companies and the government, and that Alvin Chau and some of the suspects committed 54 counts of substantial fraud.”
In relation to triad offences, the court said, “Criminal activities such as betting under the table were not carried out by Alvin Chau alone, but with the assistance of the Finance, Accounting and Information Technology Departments.”
The court also noted that “the creation and leadership of the criminal organization by Alvin Chau was sufficient to conclude that Alvin Chau and some of the suspects were involved in the criminal syndicate. Therefore, they were found guilty of the triad offence of [running a] criminal syndicate.”
As for the offence of money laundering, the court concluded that there was insufficient evidence and the offence of money laundering was not established.
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