Macau’s Alvin Chau faces asset auction for debt repayment

Assets valued at $74m to be auctioned after Suncity Group Founder sentenced to jail

In a recent court ruling, Alvin Chau, the founder of Macau’s largest junket operator, Suncity Group, has been ordered to auction off assets worth nearly $74 million (MOP 592 million) to repay his debt of $810 million. The assets, which include 31 car parking spaces and five commercial properties, will be put up for auction as part of the repayment process.

The court’s decision also mandates Chau and 20 other defendants to compensate the Macau government for illicit activities that resulted in a loss of tax revenue between 2014 and 2021. Chau has been found guilty on more than 100 charges, including organised crime and illegal gaming, with illegal bets exceeding HK$823.7 billion (￡85.7 billion; $105 billion).

Among the properties to be auctioned, 31 parking spaces are priced between MOP$1,133,000 (US$140,630) and MOP$1,184,500 (US$147,000), while the remaining five commercial properties range from MOP$55,517,000 (US$6.9 million) to MOP$176,748,000 (US$21.9 million). The total value of these assets is approximately MOP$600 million.

The court has opened the proposal to the public and set a deadline of September 11th for interested parties to participate in the auction. According to court records, the creditor listed is “U Lai Wan.”

In connection with Chau’s case, more than 30 people were recently sentenced to jail in the city of Wenzhou, China, for involvement in cross-border gambling activities.

Suncity Group had already closed all of its VIP rooms following Chau’s arrest, and the number of junket operators in Macau has been steadily declining. Official figures show that there are now only 36 junket operators remaining, compared to 100 in 2019.

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