Macau judicial authorities are aiming to close the case revolving around the ex-CEO and founder of Suncity Group Alvin Chau, scheduling the hearing of the final arguments from the defendants and prosecution for November 21.

Macau Judge in a Hurry to Close Chau Case

It seems like the judge responsible for the criminal lawsuit against former Suncity Group Alvin Chau and 20 other defendants wants to finish the case as quickly as possible.

There are further witnesses and testimonies to be heard but the judge has scheduled the final phase of the lawsuit – the hearing of the last arguments from both sides – to take place in just two weeks on November 21. So far 92 individuals have been heard in connection with the Suncity Group case.

The main focus of the trial has been the side-betting schemes that allegedly ran at Suncity Group and connected junket operators.

During the trial hearings up to now, it was revealed that there was a side-betting system called the Opsman system, which was allegedly set up with the help of an IT company from mainland China.

The system was organized and commissioned by junket agent Cheong Chi Kin, who was close to Alvin Chau at the time.

However, during his testimony, Cheong alleged that the Opsman system was operated through separate entities and was not connected to Suncity Group.

Plaintiffs Demand Further Hearings of Witnesses

The plaintiffs in the case are all of Macau’s casino operators except Melco Resorts. They have demanded that further testimonies are heard as allegedly the five concessionaires have lost more than $250 million due to the side-betting practices run by Suncity Group and other junket operators.

The Macau SAR government seems also to have suffered a major loss due to the illegal gambling operations of Suncity Group and the junkets.

According to a 224-page long indictment the Macau state budget was deprived of around $1 billion in tax revenue for the period from 2013 to 2021. This was the result of illegal side-betting practices which meant that a lot of the gambling revenue effectively remained “under the table” and, consequently, untaxed. According to the revelations, side-betting was a usual practice in Macau’s VIP rooms.

Alvin Chau was arrested in November 2021 and a major scandal erupted resulting in a significant crackdown on junket operations from the Macau SAR government.

Major changes were made to Macau’s gambling regulations and this meant that the government succeeded in more or less eradicating VIP rooms and operations run by junket agents.