BEIJING –
Macao police on Saturday arrested the head of Macau’s largest casino organization and others after Chinese authorities issued arrest warrants for them for allegedly running an illegal cross-border gambling organization. France.
The arrests in the gambling district came after prosecutors in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, eastern China, on Friday accused Suncity Group CEO Alvin Chau and another person , Zhang Ningning, heads cross-border gambling operations and sets up casinos across China.
Casinos and most forms of gambling are illegal in mainland China, and semi-autonomous Macau is the only Chinese city where casinos are allowed. Mainland visitors can come to Macau to gamble but a visa is required.
“Based on evidence obtained from previous criminal investigations, the Macao police brought criminal suspect Chau and others related to the police station for investigation in accordance with the law this morning. “, the Macao government said in a statement on Saturday.
Authorities said they had been investigating the incident since July last year.
They say the gambling organization has 199 shareholder representatives, more than 12,000 dealers that promote its gambling, and more than 80,000 gamblers in its network.
The organization also set up wealth management firms to assist gamblers in transferring money across borders and recovering debts they owe, authorities said.
In 2019, China’s official Xinhua news agency accused Suncity of targeting mainland gamblers with online gambling and authorized betting based in Cambodia and the Philippines. Suncity has denied the allegations.
Authorities said the organization “seriously damaged the social order of the country” and on Friday urged Chau to turn himself in in exchange for a more lenient punishment.
The Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group could not be reached by phone and did not immediately respond to email inquiries.
