Macau’s Court of Final Appeal has confirmed the 18-year sentence for Alvin Chau Cheok Wa (pictured in a file photo), former boss of now-defunct Macau casino junket Suncity Group Ltd, rejecting appeals filed respectively by Mr Chau’s defence and by Macao’s Public Prosecutions Office, according to a ruling published on Wednesday.
In a ruling last October, the Court of Second Instance had confirmed the 18-year sentence for Mr Chau. Some of the other defendants however had their sentences reduced. Those sentence reductions were confirmed by the Court of Final Appeal in its Wednesday decision.
The Court of Final Appeal ordered Mr Chau and his associates to pay nearly HKD24.87 billion (US$3.18 billion) to the Macau government as a way of compensation for gains from illicit gambling operations. They were acquitted of having to pay compensation to the Macau government from profits made via money laundering activities.
Previously. the Court of Second Instance had ordered the group to pay approximately HKD25.51 billion: the amount included compensation for gains from illicit gambling operations, and from profits made via money laundering activities.
In mid-January 2023, Mr Chau was given 18 years in prison in aggregate by Macau’s Court of First Instance. The founder of Suncity Group had been indicted – with 20 other people – for illegal gaming, criminal association, fraud, and money laundering.
