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Excited ‘King’ of Macau Gambling Arrested, Casino Stock Turns upside down

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Macau gambling tycoon Alvin Chau Cheok Wa has been detained by the police since Saturday (11/27/2021). The boss of the Suncity Group, an entertainment conglomerate, is accused of facilitating cross-border gambling.

He was arrested along with 10 other people. The 47-year-old man is also accused of money laundering.

In a press conference Sunday (11/28/2021), the city’s judiciary said it had detained at least nine men and two women. Launch AFP, This is the first time a prominent figure in the casino industry in Macau has been arrested.

He is said to have facilitated mainland Chinese citizens to gamble. It’s banned in mainland China, though it’s allowed in Macau.

In July 2020, the syndicate established more than 12,000 gambling agencies with 80,000 members across mainland China. Residents are facilitated to play gambling at overseas casinos with online, built a company to help gamblers exchange their assets for gambling chips, allowed clients to transfer money to set up an ‘underground’ bank to lend money to gamblers.

Police said they found evidence including US$385,000 in cash and computer hard drives that had been confiscated. Prosecutors in the mainland city of Wenzhou have also launched a separate investigation from Macau, saying Chau runs an illegal gambling syndicate that causes “severe damage to the country’s social fabric”.

Previously, President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign made surveillance of high-ranking Chinese officials and corrupt persons even tighter. It allows corrupt officials to gamble and launder money.

Suncity itself has not provided a statement. However, the company suspended trading on its shares Monday (11/29/2021) and listed them on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Six other casino operators also saw share price declines. Wynn lost 10%, SJM, Sands and MGM fell more than 7% while Melco lost more than 6% and Galaxy fell 5%.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(boss / boss)



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