Lebo Chan Wong-lin, former president of Takchun Group Junket, denied that he or the company had been involved in so-called “winner” betting activities at Macau casinos during the resumption of the trial at the city’s first trial court on Monday.
Macau News Agency reported on Monday that Mr Chan had asked to speak so that he could reveal some facts. At the first trial last week, Chan only said a few words.
The Macau Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged Chan and eight others with illegal games, criminal associations, fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors say the Chan-led group has illegally benefited from multiplier bets worth at least HK$1.5 billion ($193 million at the current exchange rate) over nearly six years. 파친코
According to a copy of the indictment reviewed by GGRASIA, prosecutors allege that the multiplier business enabled by Takcheon generated a total of more than HK$39.4 billion in rolling chip sales from April 2014 to February 2020. As a result, the Macau government missed about HK$575.21 million in taxes that should have been paid on total game revenue (GGR) generated from such sales, the indictment says.
Avoid paying Macau’s effective 39% tax rate on casino GGRs, as bets shown at casino game tables using multipliers are said to actually represent private bets that can be several times the ‘official’.
The hearing, held Monday at Macau’s First Court, was the second session of the proceedings, which are expected to take weeks.
Macau News Agency reports that at a recent hearing, Mr Chan repeatedly denied allegations of involvement in the multiplier betting scheme. But according to the media, he said this kind of betting activity is “common” in the Macau gaming industry.
“The industry as a whole knows that some junket agents and representatives will make behind-the-scenes bets with gamblers in private,” he reportedly said. “But even DICJ employees have never found such betting activities in casinos, making it harder for employees to grasp.”
At last week’s hearing, several former employees of Takcheon presented evidence as witnesses. Some of them admitted that they knew of in-house use training materials that referred to so-called ‘under-the-table bets’ and ‘phone-aided bets’ as elements of group services, respectively. This document was written by the prosecution in court.
In his most recent court session, Mr. Chan refuted the allegations. He reportedly said, “I don’t know about behind-the-scenes betting… I don’t know about such activities in Takcheon.” “I would also like to stress [Takcheon] company and I didn’t give any instructions to employees about under-the-table betting,” he said, saying prosecutor Lai Wu only knew the existence of the documents “when they were shown to them in court.
Four Macau casino operators have confirmed civil compensation claims totaling just over HK$134.7 million against Chan and other defendants in connection with alleged criminal activities related to the VIP gaming business.