Links to the Alvin Chau case
Police in Macau have arrested a casino kingpin with links to fallen junket billionaire Alvin Chau Cheok-wa in a raid that netted HK$4.1m (US$525,745).
Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested Macau Legend Development’s CEO and controlling shareholder Chan Weng Lin on Friday. Another man, which media sources believe to be Choi Wai Chan, chairman of Hong Kong-listed travel agency Ying Hai Group Holdings, was also taken into custody.
alleged money laundering and illegal gambling
In an official announcement Sunday, the PJ said it arrested the men over alleged money laundering and illegal gambling. Police confirmed they “successfully intercepted” the two suspects at a hotel in Macau’s New Outer Harbour Areas (NAPE). Officials confiscated gadgets, servers, documents, and files along with cash in the raid.
Macau Legend Development owns three casinos in the Asian casino hub, namely Landmark Macau, Babylon Casino, and Legend Palace Casino.
Shares take a hit
According to the BBC, shares in Macau Legend Development fell by as much as 30% in Hong Kong on Monday.
Confirming the arrest and detainment of Chan in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Macau Legend Development sought to distance itself from its CEO, affirming that the incident “relates to the personal affairs of Mr. Chan and not related to the Group.”
Despite the stock market’s reaction, Macau Legend said its board doesn’t expect the arrest and detainment of Chan “to have a material adverse impact on the daily operations of the Group.”
Crime syndicates linked
A PJ spokesperson linked Chan and Choi to the Alvin Chau case, despite the two police raids targeting two different crime syndicates.
jointly engaged in the alleged crimes”
“There is sufficient evidence, according to our investigation, to show that these [two] crime syndicates have jointly engaged in the alleged crimes” that led to Friday’s arrests, the spokesman confirmed.
Chan is also the chairman of Tak Chun Group, believed to be Macau’s second-largest junket operator, running trips to casinos for high rollers from the China mainland. According to the BBC, Tak Chun did not immediately respond to its request for comment.