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An appeal presented by former Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau to Macau’s Court of Final Appeal has been rejected. The former CEO’s 18-year jail term will be upheld as the decision was made on Wednesday. Eight other co-appellants also had their appeals rejected.
The decision on Wednesday also required the defendants to pay a fine of HKD 24.87bn ($3.18bn) to the Macao Special Administrative Region.
According to Macau news reports, the appeal was made by the former CEO against a ruling in 2023 that found him and eight other defendants guilty of criminal association, illegal gambling and money laundering. All of them had been handed prison sentences, with jail terms between nine and 18 years depending on their individual charges, by the Court of Second Instance.
Last year, prosecutors sought to reinstate a fraud conviction against some of the defendants, which the intermediate court had later overturned. The prosecutor’s appeal for a harsher sentence has also been rejected.
Macau is cracking down hard on illegal gambling and money laundering. Recently, Macau Police busted a cross-border illegal gambling syndicate, in which 50 people were arrested and RMB 1bn ($13m) was recovered.
Another case by Macau’s Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) involved a supervisor at a Macau gaming business suspected of receiving bribes of up to RMB 190,000 ($26,122) from work applicants in exchange for placement in the business.
