Alvin Chau
Macanese businessman and criminal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alvin Chau Cheok-wa[1] (Chinese: 周焯華; Jyutping: zau1 coek3 waa4), nicknamed Sai Mai-wa (Chinese: 洗米華; lit. 'wash rice Wah'), is a Macanese-born businessman and founder of Suncity Group.
- Yang Su-mei
Alvin Chau Cheok-wa | |
|---|---|
| 周焯華 | |
 | |
| Born | May 30, 1974 Macau |
| Other names | Sai Mai-wa |
| Occupation | Businessman/mafia |
| Spouses |
Heidi Chan (m. 2002) |
| Partner | Mandy Lau (2014-2019) |
| Children | 7 |
Career
Chau is the founder and CEO of Suncity, the largest junket operator in Macau.[2]: 303 At times, the company controlled almost 50% of the VIP gaming business in Macau.[2]: 303
Chau is a former member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's Guangdong Provincial Committee.
Prosecution
On November 28, 2021, Chau was arrested on a warrant issued by the city of Wenzhou.[2]: 302 The arrest warrant was based on allegations of illegal cross-border casino operations and money laundering.[2]: 302 Along with Chau, ten alleged accomplices were arrested.[2]: 302 Within a week of Chau's arrest, Suncity closed all of its VIP rooms in Macau.[2]: 302
He was convicted in January 2023 of leading a criminal syndicate, and running illegal gambling and fraud operations, and sentenced to 18 years in prison.[3][4][5][6]
Law enforcement authorities around the world have continued to uncover Chau's vast connections to some of southeast Asia's most prolific drug trafficking and cyber-enabled fraud networks, among other criminal groups, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.[7]