Macau-licensed junket operator Sun City Gaming Promotion Co Ltd says “all businesses are normally operating”. That is following an announcement on Friday that the People’s Procuratorate of Wenzhou city, in Zhejiang province, mainland China, had “recently approved the arrest for suspect” Alvin Chau Cheok Wa.
Mr Chau is regarded as a key figure in Sun City Gaming Promotion Co Ltd – known in Portuguese as Sun City Promoção de Jogos – Sociedade Unipessoal Limitada, a VIP gaming promoter registered with the Macau authorities. Mr Chau is the boss of Macau junket brand Suncity Group, and also a leading figure in Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings Ltd, an investor in a number of casino projects in the Asia-Pacific region beyond Macau.
Contacted by GGRAsia on whether Suncity Group had any comment regarding the news of an arrest warrant for Mr Chau, a spokesperson for the group said by email early on Saturday: “We have contacted Mr Alvin Chau, and [as] yet he has no response.”
The statement added: “Sun City Gaming Promotion Co Ltd… is currently and fully following up on the relevant issues. The company hereby emphasises that all businesses are normally operating in accordance with the law and under the supervision of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suncity Group was considered by a number of analyts covering the gaming sector as the largest junket operator by business volume in Macau.
The posting from the Wenzhou authorities referred to Mr Chau only by his Chinese name, not his Western-style moniker, and as “Macau resident, shareholder and director of Sun City Promoção de Jogos – Sociedade Unipessoal Limitada”.
Mr Chau and an individual named Zhang Ningning were identified by the Wenzhou authorities as allegedly leading members of a “cross-border gambling group” that committed the crime of “establishing casino” in mainland China.
