Some 34 properties that once belonged to imprisoned junket boss Alvin Chau will be on sale again at an upcoming auction organised by Macao’s Court of First Instance, multiple media outlets report. Following unsuccessful attempts to attract buyers, the court has slashed the total asking value to approximately 300 million patacas (US$37.3 million).
Previously, it had attempted to auction off 36 of Chau’s properties during two public events held in July 2023 and February 2024, but were only able to sell off two commercial premises.
The first auction saw Chau’s portfolio, which included 31 parking spaces and 5 commercial properties in Taipa, put up for sale for an aggregated total of 600 million patacas (US$74.6 million).
The new auction scheduled for 22 October will feature one of the parking spaces, offered for roughly 1.019 million patacas (US$127,000), with the other 30 spaces each priced at around 1.07 million patacas (US$130,000). Meanwhile, the remaining three commercial buildings have asking prices set at approximately 49.97 million patacas (US$6.22 million), 66.37 million patacas (US$8.26 million) and 159 million patacas (US$19.79 million).
[See more: Suncity touts its contribution to Macao in a unusual Facebook post]
The sale of Chau’s real estate portfolio is intended to help defray the almost $HK25 billion in compensation that he owes to the Macao government for various crimes that resulted in his arrest in 2021, including association with a criminal organisation and unauthorised gambling operations.
Currently, the 50-year-old is serving an 18-year sentence that he tried to have overturned through an appeal that was ultimately rejected by the SAR’s Court of Final Appeal this month.
The former boss of the Suncity Group has maintained his innocence, even proclaiming it in an open letter penned to Chinese President Xi Jinping late last year.
Earlier this month, his defunct company made a similar Facebook post that boasted of its contributions to Macao.
