Inside Asian Gaming

April 2016 inside asian gaming 43 the top post from the territory’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1999 until 2014, when he was seen as a possible challenger to Macau’s Chief Executive Fernando Chui. Under Portugal he also served as the CCAC’s Deputy High Commissioner. Talking to reporters, the current CCAC Commissioner Andre Cheong said his investigation only concerned Ho’s alleged misconduct regarding tenders and did not relate to decisions about who to investigate while Ho was Prosecutor General. Lawmakers reacted with incredulity. “We do not believe that the judicial duties were not affected,” said the New Macau Association’s Jason Chao, before describing the alleged sums involved as “embarrassingly low” by Macau standards. “If you can bribe Ho with MOP$44 million then his official duties could be bought as well … The implication is just terrifying because what’s being compromised is the integrity of investigations.” President of the Macau Lawyers’ Association Jorge Neto Valente said the case, and decision not to look into Ho’s main duties as prosecutor, were “shaking society’s confidence in the legal system.” The affair is the biggest corruption scandal to hit Macau since Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man-long was sentenced to 29 years in jail in 2009 for taking bribes of more than MOP$32 million. Chinese police swoop on Poipet-based iGaming fraud REGIONAL BRIEFS Chinese police busted a Cambodia-based internet scam that used the brands of Macau casinos to target online gamblers in China. According to the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, the fraud conned more than 1,000 victims in 11 Chinese cities out of 140 million yuan (US$21.5 million). Over 1,000 officers, including 150 dispatched to Cambodia, arrested 180 suspects across China and 38 more in the Cambodian Thai-border town of Poipet. The scam used servers in Poipet, and the brands of Macau operators Grand Lisboa, Galaxy and Venetian Macao, to host fraudulent Chinese-language casino websites, said police. Some featured human dealers filmed via live video streams. Customers were approached via promotional text messages detailing a voice-over-internet call line for customer services. Once they had completed registration, fake representatives coaxed them into transferring money into private accounts to buy chips. The criminals then allowed them to make small wins, followed by quick and easy withdrawals, to induce them into making large deposits. Further bets were then rigged for the customer to lose everything, after which all communication ceased. The arrests made in China spanned 18 provinces, according to Chinese media. Cambodian police worked with visiting Chinese officers to detain the suspects in Poipet, said mostly to be from the province of Fujian, and then fly them back to China. Also in Poipet in early March, a similar joint operation netted over 100 Chinese nationals running a non-gambling online scam that targeted victims in China. Details of the swindle were not given. But such schemes in the past have involved perpetrators calling Chinese citizens, claiming their bank accounts have been compromised, then advising them to transfer funds into supposedly safer accounts. Shortlist drawn up for takeover of Laos casino resort Six bidders have been shortlisted for the acquisition of the Laos casino resort, Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex. They are: Macau Legend Development, a Hong Kong-listed operator with casinos in Macau and plans to build a casino resort in Cape Verde; Iao Kun Group, a NASDAQ-listed operator of junkets in Macau and Australia; a consortium led by the Malaysian slot manufacturer RGB International; Hong Kong-based casino operator Silver Heritage Ltd; Groupe Lucien Barriere, a French operator which also has casinos in Switzerland and Egypt; and US investment firm PGP Investors. The resort is in Savannakhet, a province that shares borders with both Vietnam, where casinos are closed to locals, and Thailand, which bans casino gambling completely. A prospectus document describes the facility as including “a full-service casino, a hotel and numerous leisure offerings.” It was previously controlled by Sanum Investments Ltd and Lao Holdings NV. But the Laos government seized control of operations and last October appointed the US-based investment firm SanMarco Capital Partners to organize its sale. Last June newspapers in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands reported police in Laos were conducting a criminal investigation into the boss of the parent company of Sanum Investments and Lao Holdings. He was named as John K Baldwin, principal and chief executive of Bridge Capital LLC, and is accused of bribing Lao officials over US$300,000 to terminate an audit on Savan Vegas, costing the government US$70 million in lost tax revenue. San Marco said the Laos government had approved its shortlist based on factors including “financial capability and operational expertise.” The winning candidate will be granted a concession to operate the resort for 50 years.