Levo Chan and four co-defendants directed to provide compensation to casino operators

Levo Chan, the ex-CEO of the junket operator Tak Chun Group, has been handed a 14-year prison sentence and has been directed to provide compensation as part of his sentence for fraud.

Levo Chan Weng Lin, the former head of Macau casino junket Tak Chun Group, has been ordered to compensate the government and five casino operators with nearly HKD779.7 million (US$99.3 million).

Chan and four other defendants were previously sentenced to prison terms for charges including illicit gambling and fraud, after running an under-the-table betting operation that defrauded the Macau government and casino operators out of at least HKD1.5 billion (US$191 million) over almost six years.

The Macau Court of First Instance has now added fines totaling HKD575.2 million (US$73.5 million) as compensation to the government, and an additional HKD204.5 million (US$26.1 million) to five of the city’s six casino firms. The respective amounts to be paid to Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., Sands China Ltd., Wynn Macau Ltd., SJM Holdings Ltd., and MGM China Holdings Ltd. are HKD81.2 million (US$10.4 million), just under HKD47.0 million (US$6 million), HKD36.8 million (US$4.7 million), HKD35.6 million (US$4.5 million), and HKD3.8 million (US$485,000) respectively.

This follows the recent sentencing of another former Macau junket boss, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, to 18 years in prison, with both prosecution and defense appealing his sentence.

Macau Introduces New Legislation on Casino Credit and Junket Agreements

André Cheong Weng Chon, acting as the spokesman for Macau’s Executive Council, and Adriano Marques Ho, director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, have disclosed that Macau is in the process of drafting a new bill with updated regulations for junket operators offering credit in the casino industry.

Under the proposed bill, junket operators would be required to have a formal contract when extending credit to any gaming concessionaire they are affiliated with. Additionally, management companies, which are non-concessionaire entities authorized to operate satellite casino venues under a concessionaire license, would be prohibited from establishing casino gaming credit contracts or engaging in any related legal activities.

If the bill is approved by the Legislative Assembly, it would replace the existing gaming credit law, Law No. 5/2004. However, Cheong and Ho did not provide further details on the specific differences between the proposed bill and the current gaming credit law. Cheong stated that the government is still reviewing the existing regulatory framework pertaining to illicit gambling and formulating new legal proposals.