Levo Chan denies involvement in under-the-table betting
Levo Chan Weng Lin has given testimony in his trial.
Macau.- Levo Chan Weng Lin, the former head of Tak Chun, has denied that he or the company were ever involved in multiplier betting activities at Macau casinos. He gave testimony at The Court of First Instance on Monday (December 12).
He said: “The entire industry knows that some junket agents and representatives would engage in under-table betting with gamblers privately. But even officers from DICJ [the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau] had never found any of these betting activities in casinos, so it’s even more difficult for my employees to find out.”
Levo Chan Weng Lin was arrested in January with eight other people and was charged by Macau’s Public Prosecution Office for leading a criminal gang, money laundering, running illegal gambling operations and running illegal gambling operations in a casino.
Four Macau casino operators are plaintiffs in the case. Wynn Macau claims damages in the case totalling HK$48.25m (US$6.21m), Sands China claims HK$46.99m (US$6.04m), SJM Holdings HK$35.64m (US$4.58m) and MGM China Holdings HK$3.82m (US$491,000).
Previously, witnesses told the court that they conducted under-the-table betting at a Tak Chun VIP room. A series of tutorial documents mentioning under-the-table bets, proxy bets and telephone bets was handed to the court.
Levo Chan denied having seen such documents before. Lam Peng Fai, the presiding judge, asked him: “So are you not aware of the existence of the documents? Or are you not aware of the under-table betting operation in Tak Chun?… You have rights to clarify but you cannot talk nonsense.”
Chan answered: “I am not aware of under-table betting… I am not aware of such activities in Tak Chun. I also want to emphasize that the company [Tak Chun] and I had not given any instructions to employees about under-table betting.”
Another judge on the three-person panel, Ip Sio Fan, asked: “I don’t understand how come you are aware of the existence of under-table betting in Macau but you are not aware of these activities taking place in the VIP rooms of Tak Chun?”
He answered, “No one knows for sure whether the gamblers really engage in these bets.” He also said he he was “rarely” involved in the day-to-day operation of Tak Chun.
Tak Chun links with Suncity
Levo Chan was also asked about the closure of Tak Chun shortly after Suncity Group Holdings closed its VIP rooms in Macau following the arrest of Alvin Chau Cheok Wa. Levo Chan denied having closed Tak Chun due to fears of similar charges and said the decision was taken because all six gaming operators had notified the company they would cease collaboration.
Chau is charged with similar crimes as Levo Chan: illicit gambling, running a criminal syndicate, fraud, and money laundering. The legal proceedings were completed last week and a verdict will be delivered on January 18 2023.
