Former Suncity Group boss Alvin Chau and other mid-level and senior management at his company are set to go on trial today.
Chau is accused of founding and leading a parallel gambling group that has been conducting illegal activities in Macau casinos for several years, TDM reported.
Additionally, Chau has been charged with founding and leading a secret society, a crime punishable by 8 to 15 years in prison. He has also been charged with fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling.
Chau and his closest associates (all defendants in this case) have been accused of founding and operating an illegal gambling syndicate, with total stakes in illegal gambling groups exceeding HK$823.7 billion. It is reported that there are An investigation found that between 2013 and March 2021, the group illegally collected more than HK$21.5 billion from him, TDM reports.
The group has been accused of defrauding game concessionaires, concealing revenues and actual bets, and influencing revenues of game operators and tax revenues of the Macau government.
Meanwhile, the government and game operators have filed complaints against groups claiming compensation.
According to the indictment, Chau founded Suncity Group Limited in 2008 and later set up other companies to assist in illegal activities. The illegal gambling group consists primarily of Suncity’s middle and senior management.
Presiding Judge Lou Heng Ha is scheduled to begin the trial at 2:45 p.m. today.
Chau was arrested on November 27, 2021. In addition to him, six of the 21 defendants are in custody. According to TDM, Chau will be represented by lawyers Leon Wen Pung and Pedro Real, and the trial will be attended by lawyers including David Gomez, Joao Varela, Filipe Redinha and Oriana Pung.
