A Macau correctional services van , purportedly carrying the city’s former junket boss Alvin Chau, arrives in court in Macau on January 18, 2023 for his expected verdict for running an illegal gambling empire/AFPPix: Macau’s former “junket king” Alvin Chau was found guilty of running an illegal gambling empire Wednesday, ending a criminal trial that shocked the casino hub and toppled one of its highest-profile gaming tycoons.
At its peak during the 2010s, junkets contributed the bulk of gaming revenue for the former Portuguese colony, which boasted a pre-pandemic casino industry bigger than Las Vegas. Prosecutors charged Chau with 289 counts of fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling -- crimes that could land him in jail for decades.
Suncity under Chau’s leadership “conducted illegal gambling for unlawful gains for a long time,“ she said in her ruling.