Shares in Macau’s Suncity Group Holdings tanked when trade resumed on Thursday after gaming rooms linked to the group were shut following the arrest of its former CEO and chairman, Alvin Chau.
Chau, also the founder of Macau’s biggest junket operator which brings in high rollers to play at casinos, was arrested with 10 others on Sunday over alleged links to cross-border gambling and money laundering.
In a statement released late on Wednesday, Suncity said that gaming rooms operated by a business wholly owned by Chau had closed as of December 1.
It also confirmed that Chau had resigned from all positions at Suncity Group but did not announce a new CEO or chairman.
Suncity Group’s stock was down 10% in Thursday morning trade, albeit off a record low marked earlier in the day, after being suspended on Wednesday. The shares have now halved in value since Chau’s arrest.
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Macau authorities have accused Chau and 10 others of using the former Portuguese colony as a base for an illegal “live web betting platform” in the Philippines that attracted mainland Chinese gamblers.
A warrant for Chau’s arrest has also been issued by the mainland Chinese city of Wenzhou, accusing him of forming a junket agent network that helps citizens engage in gambling activities and setting up a company that helps gamblers make cross-border fund transfers.
Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said in a statement late on Wednesday it would not comment on recent gambling crime cases as they have entered judicial proceedings.
It said it would supervise Macau’s gaming industry in accordance with the law.
- Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard
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