Tak Chun Boss Levo Chan Formally Charged in Macau for Alleged Illegal Gambling
Posted on: August 5, 2022, 12:00h. 
Last updated on: August five, 2022, 12:01h.
Tak Chun Group’s former boss Levo Chan has been formally charged with numerous crimes in Macau, which includes operating an illegal gambling syndicate.
The given that-defunct Tak Chun Group was after regarded as one particular of Macau’s biggest junket operators. A subsidiary of Macau Legend Development, which owns Fisherman’s Wharf close to the Macau Ferry Terminal, Tak Chun for years catered to wealthy mainland Chinese residents who sought gambling trips to Macau.
Last year, the Macau government, at the path of China President Xi Jinping, initiated an business assault on junket groups that facilitate travel to the casino enclave. The region’s two biggest junket organizers — Suncity Group and Tak Chun Group — were at the leading of the scrutiny list.
The crackdown resulted in most casinos terminating their junket relationships. The arrangements had supplied commissions to junket organizers in exchange for bringing the private VIP gaming rooms higher rollers from the mainland and elsewhere all through South Asia.
Alvin Chau, the founder and former CEO of Suncity, has sat in a Macau prison because November 2021. Chan has been in custody because his January 2022 arrest.
Both former junket kingpins are facing considerable time in prison need to they be discovered guilty of facilitating cross-border gambling. China prohibits most types of gambling and outlaws gambling advertising on the mainland.
Charges Filed
Even though Suncity and Tak Chun claimed to operate independently of a single yet another, law enforcement in Macau has raised claims that the two junkets had been far more intertwined than previously believed.
The Macau Public Prosecution’s Office this week charged Chan with operating a criminal organization, conducting unlawful gambling, and cash laundering. If convicted on all counts, Chan could face 20 years in prison. Chau is facing related charges and a related prison term.
Even even though our two operations had been targeted at two distinct groups, according to our investigation, there is sufficient evidence that shows the two groups with each other participated in illicit and criminal activities,” Macau Judiciary Police spokesperson Chong Leong mentioned.
Macau law enforcement officials allege that Suncity and Tak Chun played a substantial role in the nearby government’s belief that junkets organized the unlawful gambling of at least HK$800 billion (US$102 billion) since 2007.
Chan has denied wrongdoing. Macau police say he’s been uncooperative.
Chau’s trial is set to commence in September. Prosecutors haven’t however provided a trial timeline for Chan.
Tak Chun Closes
Although he maintains his innocence, Chan soon soon after his January arrest resigned from Tak Chun. Macau Legend Improvement subsequently announced that its casino partnership with SJM Resorts — the oldest casino operator in Macau — had been dissolved.
SJM severing ties with Tak Chun was essentially the junket group’s end. Macau Legend has since replaced Chan as its co-chair, executive director, and CEO. Nevertheless, the company says he remains its biggest shareholder, but has “no claim whatsoever against the Group, regardless of whether by way of compensation, remuneration, severance, costs, or otherwise.”
The junket model has largely been done away with in Macau, as the area readies to embark on its next gaming regulatory environment. The enclave is preparing to situation every single of the six licensed commercial gaming firms new 10-year operating permits. Their current concessions expire at the end of 2022.
