Former Suncity accounting director says company had side-betting operation

Faye Lao has told court that there was a connection between Suncity and an off-books betting business.

Macau.- Faye Lao, a former accounting director at Suncity Group, has declared that the Macau junkey operator Suncity was involved in off-books betting. Giving evidence in the Suncity trial at The Court of First Instance yesterday (September 29), he is the first witness to say that Suncity was directly linked to under-the-table betting.

Cheong Chi Kin, an ex-colleague of former Suncity CEO Alvin Chau Cheok Wa and a co-defendant in the trial, had previously told the court that he ran two companies that facilitated under-the-table betting and brought customers to VIP rooms at Suncity. However, he said his companies had no affiliation with Suncity or Chau Cheok Wa. 

According to Macau Business, Faye Lao told prosecutor Lai U Hou that the side betting businesses, Main Camp, belonged to Suncity. When asked if Chau Cheok Wa owned Main Camp, Faye Lao said: “It can be said Main Camp belonged to Chau Cheok Wa.” 

Faye Lao also said that profits were deposited into an “Operation Reserve Card” account, one of Suncity’s VIP cash accounts. She did not specify whether the account belonged to the junket operator, its clients, or its shareholders

She said that from around 2015, monthly results of the under-the-table betting business were sent to Chau via phone messages, along with results and other information from Suncity. Chau’s legal counsel, Leong Weng Pun, questioned how the witness had learned that Suncity owned Main Camp and whether there were any documents supporting her claim.

Alvin Chau Cheok Wa has denied accusations that he ran under-the-table betting for high rollers. However, Lai U Hou referred to conversations and text messages obtained by the police that allegedly showed Chau’s role in the practice also known as multiplier betting.

Thursday’s session also focused on the proxy betting business through which a criminal syndicate headed by Chau is acccused of receiving indications from gamblers through telephones or online devices that were then carried out with the help of an operator in a physical casino.

Chau had told the court that Suncity only offered such services in overseas markets, such as the Philippines. The former CEO of Suncity Group said the company stopped operating proxy betting services through the Philippines in 2019, transferring the operations to a man named Richard Yong Seng Chen.

According to Chau, after the transfer, the proxy betting business was named UE. However, Lao said Suncity was still paying staff salaries and other business costs. He also said that Suncity still received 50 per cent of the profits generated by UE, while 30 per cent went to Yong Seng Chen.

The trial continues today (September 30).