Assets of former junket manager Chan Yan Hung, who was accused of embezzling about HK$100m from a VIP room at L’Arc Macau in 2016, have been auctioned off by the Court of First Instance.
The court-ordered sale is a step towards recovering the embezzled funds, as Macau news agencies reported.
The assets include two residential properties in Ocean Gardens, which were sold by the court for nearly MOP$7.6m ($0.94m), a parking space in Ocean Gardens valued at MOP$1m and shares in three of Chan’s companies with a total value of the sale at MOP 20,047.
Chan was the VP of VIP Operations at L’Arc Macau, when he allegedly committed the crime in 2016 before disappearing. The case was immediately reported to the Macau police and investigations proceeded, but Chan, the suspect, cannot be located.
In May 2021, the Court of First Instance ruled that Chan’s wife would be “jointly liable for HKD 20m of her husband’s debt.” In 2024, the Court ordered Chan’s assets to be auctioned off as well.
The above case and several similar incidents later had Macau enact a new Gaming Law in 2023, which imposes stricter restrictions on junkets, "prohibiting junkets from entering revenue share contracts with concessionaires and from engaging in lending or borrowing money."
Just recently, Macau’s Court of Final Appeal rejected former junket CEO Alvin Chau’s appeal. This article provides an in-depth explanation regarding Alvin Chau’s case.
There have also been discussions about the future of the junket model, with MGM China’s COO Hubert Wang having remarked on the junket model in his interview with Gambling Insider as part of his appearance in our CEO Special.
