Alvin Chau acquitted of fraud but ordered to pay US$3.1bn

The former Suncity CEO Alvin Chau Cheok Wa has been ordered to pay HK$25bn in compensation for money laundering and illicit gaming offences.

Macau.- The Court of Second Instance (TSI) has acquitted Alvin Chau Cheok Wa and six co-defendants, of fraud. However, it has increased the amount of compensation to be paid to Macau by Chau and other defendants to almost HK$25bn (US$3.1bn).

The compensation is related to charges of money laundering and illicit gaming offences. The former CEO of Suncity (now LET Group Holdings) was handed an 18-year prison sentence earlier this year. Alvin Chau and 20 other defendants were involved in illicit activities between 2014 and 2021, which resulted in a loss of tax revenue for the Macau government.

Of the original defendants, Celestino Ali, Cheong Chi Kin, Chau Chun Hee, Lou Seak Fong, Philip Wong Pak Ling, and Leong Su Weng were acquitted of fraud charges. The TSI maintained its sentencing for nine defendants, including Chau, for the crime of criminal association. They were found guilty of illegal exploitation of gaming in an authorised location via “under0the-table” bets, and illicit exploitation of gambling outside authorised locations via online and network gambling. 

The court found that the criminal operation obtained HK$17.6bn through under-the-table betting and HK$7.2bn through online and network gaming.

The TSI has upheld Alvin Chau’s 18-year prison sentence for criminal association and illegal gaming exploration. The court set his bail at HK$6.5bn. Four defendants had their sentences reduced from 15 years to 12 years and 6 months: Celestino Ali, Cheong Chi Kin, Chau Chun Hee, and Philip Wong Pak Ling.

The TSI maintained the freezing of bank accounts and real estate owned by Alvin Chau, a company named Sawalana Limited registered in London and other assets included in the MP reports. The defendants can appeal the decision to the Court of Final Appeal.