Macao: The founder of Macao's former biggest casino junket company was found guilty of running an illegal gambling operation, leading a criminal organization and several other offenses and sentenced to 18 years in prison on Wednesday.

Alvin Chow, the former chairman of Suncity Group, was detained in Macau in November 2021, shortly after Chinese authorities issued an arrest warrant on the grounds that he was allegedly part of a gambling syndicate that operated across international borders. operated illegally.

Casinos are allowed in only one place in China, Macau, where junk companies like Suncity were a major player in the gaming sector. He arranged travel services and provided credit to high rollers so that they could gamble outside the former Portuguese colony.

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Prosecutors in Macao accused Chow and some co-defendants of running a syndicate that prevented the city's government from collecting nearly $1 billion in taxes between 2013 and 2021.

He was accused of running an illegal side-betting operation to make profits. In one of the biggest criminal cases to hit the gambling den in recent memory, Chow was charged with nearly 290 crimes.

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The judge noted that Chow's defense attorney attempted to show that Chow was not involved in side-betting activities, but came to the conclusion that such activities would not have been possible without Chow's approval when announcing the verdict.

However, he did not convict Chow of money laundering.

The court ordered that Chow and certain co-defendants pay $830 million in restitution to the government and financially reimburse various casino operators.

After Chow's arrest, the junk industry suffered and Suncity closed its VIP rooms. Levo Chan, a former executive of another major scrap company, was also detained by Macao police in January last year on suspicion of illegal gambling operations.

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After China recently eased its COVID-19 restrictions, the casino hub is gearing up for a recovery in both tourism and gaming revenue. Its gambling revenue is set to drop 50% from last year to $5.3 billion in 2022.