A sentence of 14 years has been given to former junket boss Levo Chan, according to multiple media reports.
Levo Chan, of disbanded junket operator Tak Chun Group, was found guilty, after a five-month trial, of more than 30 charges, including fraud, money laundering and illicit gaming. The case featured eight other defendants, four of whom were acquitted.
Chan was found to have run a criminal organisation that facilitated the wagering of HK$1.5 billion in covert bets at local casinos from 2014 to 2020. His illicit activities led to the loss of some HK$135 million for casino operators and HK$575.2 million in gaming tax for the local government.
Lam Peng Fai, a presiding judge at the Macau Court of First Instance, has ordered Chan and the four other guilty defendants to pay compensation to the government and the casinos.
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Chan now has 20 days to appeal the verdict at the Court of Second Instance.
In January, Suncity Group founder Alvin Chau was sentenced to 18 years in prison for similar wrongdoing and ordered to pay massive compensation to Macao’s gaming concessionaires and the authorities.
The cases of Chan and Chau signal the determination of regulators to tighten oversight of junket operators and come in the wake of a gaming bill, approved last year, that reforms virtually every aspect of local casino operations.
