Five gaming operators have stopped seeking a collective 2.14 billion patacas in compensation for alleged damages suffered due to the Suncity Group’s criminal saga, TDM reports.
TDM said that “various sources” confirmed the concessionaires’ apparently joint decision, which came after the Court of Second Appeal acquitted disgraced former Suncity boss, Alvin Chau, and other defendants of fraud in October. This meant that they were no longer obliged to compensate the concessionaires, but still owe a lot of money to the government.
The gaming operators have decided against heading to the Court of Final Appeal in a bid to overturn this ruling, TDM says.
[See more: Properties belonging to convicted junket king Alvin Chau are to be sold off]
Wynn Resorts had reportedly sought 770 million patacas, Galaxy 559 million, MGM 340 million, the Venetian Macau (owned by Sands China) 295 million and SJM 178 million from the defendants.
The Court of Second Instance did not reduce the prison sentences previously imposed on Chau and his associates for their involvement in illicit gambling activities and other crimes. While it cleared the group of defrauding Macao’s gaming operators, the court almost tripled the amount of compensation the men must pay the SAR’s government – from HK$8.6 billion to HK$25 billion.
Chau’s high-profile case signalled the local government’s determination to tighten oversight of junket operators and followed the introduction of a gaming bill that reformed many aspects of casino operations.
