Macau businessman and founder of Suncity Group, Zhou Zhuohua (nicknamed "Xi Mihua"), was charged with a total of 289 counts of establishing and directing a criminal group, money laundering and illegal gambling, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison today (18th).
Since the trial, Zhou Zhuohua has appeared in court many times to testify in person, and every word has become the focus of the society. Reviewing the case materials, revisiting the "golden sentences" in Xi Mihua's trial.
▼Zhou Zhuohua's 289 charges▼
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1 count of establishing and leading a criminal group
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229 crimes of illegally operating gambling in a licensed place
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57 counts of considerable fraud
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1 count of unlawful gambling
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1 count of aggravated money laundering
▼On November 26, 2021, the Macau Judicial Police arrested 11 suspects involved in illegal gambling and money laundering cases▼
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▼On November 27, 2021, Zhou Zhuohua was arrested by the Macau judicial police▼
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The case dates back to two years ago. On November 26, the Zhejiang Wenzhou Procuratorate approved the arrest of Zhou Zhuohua on November 26 of the year before last for the crime of opening a casino. The Macau police arrested Xi Mihua and 11 people in the same case the next day.
The Macau Prosecutor’s Office pointed out that the police had initially grasped the evidence that the suspect surnamed Zhou and others were suspected of illegally operating gambling more than a year ago, and filed a case for investigation against the gang. The platform, through the "live broadcast scene", attracts mainland residents as the main source of tourists to conduct huge amounts of illegal online gambling, and uses Macau company accounts to transfer illegal income through underground banks.
After more than 14 hours of interrogation by Xi Mihua and others, the Macau Procuratorate pointed out that considering the serious nature of the crime, especially considering the serious impact and impact of the crime on the legal operation of Macau’s gaming industry and the stability of Macau’s financial order, in order to prevent related The suspect escaped, and five suspects including Xi Mihua were detained.
On November 30 of the same year, Suncity announced that the operation of all casinos was suspended, and the website was also unavailable.
Due to the closure of VIP halls and corresponding structural adjustments, Suncity Group suspended trading on the same day.
Zhou Zhuohua also resigned as the chairman and executive director of Suncity Group on December 1.
The case was originally scheduled to start trial on September 2 last year, but 11 of the 21 defendants involved in the case were absent from the hearing. The court announced that the case would be postponed to September 19 for the continuation of the trial.
Zhou Zhuohua's son Zhou Pakho showed up that day. After the court, he revealed that he had visited his father in prison and he was in good condition.
Nicknamed "Xi Mi Hua", Zhou Zhuohua's business covers gaming, entertainment, film and television and other fields.
(File photo/photo by Fu Xiangding)
I don't gamble, and I don't know much about table games.
"Xi Mi Hua" Zhou Zhuohua
1. The case was re-opened on September 19 last year, and Chau Cheuk-wah's wife, Chen Huiling, attended the hearing.
The lawsuit shows that Zhou Zhuohua is suspected of committing a total of 289 crimes between March 2013 and March 2021, including 1 crime of establishing and leading a criminal group, 229 crimes of illegally operating gambling in licensed places, and 57 counts of considerable fraud. One crime of illegally operating gambling and one crime of aggravated money laundering. The gamble amounted to 823.774 billion Hong Kong dollars in the operation of "bottom gambling" in 6 gaming casinos, earning at least 21.521 billion Hong Kong dollars in illegitimate interests, resulting in losses for the SAR government 8.26 billion Hong Kong dollars in gaming taxes.
According to Australian media reports, Zhou Zhuohua denied in court the operation of gambling companies and money laundering. allow.
Regarding the allegations of money laundering, Zhou Zhuohua was accused of using the assets of gamblers in the Mainland to repay the debts of the gambling bottom. He responded that he believed that the relevant business had investment value, emphasizing that it was financing and the procedure was legal.
Zhou Zhuohua also pointed out that the dividends of Suncity had been ideal for many years before the epidemic, emphasizing that gambling is not the company's business. When asked about the actual operation of the electric investment, he responded: "I don't gamble, and I don't know much about table gambling."
Just relying on an Excel report can be charged with 229 crimes.
"Xi Mi Hua" Zhou Zhuohua
2. Zhou Zhuohua once voluntarily asked to speak during the interrogation to refute the testimony of the police witness, saying that since 2013, he had not shared any income from "betting the bottom line" and had not participated in any "betting the bottom line" activities. He questioned the use of the police to check The evidence for the "betting bottom line" comes from the same source. Regarding the statements presented by the prosecution, he believes that the authenticity of the data cannot be considered.
I don't know that Dianjie will become a criminal group or a gangster.
"Xi Mi Hua" Zhou Zhuohua
3. At the stage of the closing statement last December, Xi Mihua once mentioned in court that he felt very helpless and puzzled by the crime of being accused of a criminal group. He said bluntly: "I don't know if my solution will become a criminal group or a gangster," said Sun The city has not been involved in any criminal cases, and there have been no casualties or property losses, nor has it promoted gambling in the Mainland.
He apologized in court to the staff and their families involved.
Zhou Zhuohua, a businessman nicknamed "Xi Mi Hua", was accused of debts and was chased for more than 422 million yuan in the case of Xi Mi Hua | Judging Zhou Zhuohua on 1.18 next year: I don't understand why he became a criminal group or a gangster. Yu was sentenced, Zhang was sentenced to 7 years in rice laundering case｜The fifth defendant, Zhang Zhijian, admitted to operating a gambling business and claimed that Zhou Zhuohua agreed to refer customers to the rice laundering case｜Zhou Zhuohua pointed out that the gambling background was not Sun City’s business and he was not familiar with electric investment operations: I don’t gamble money to launder rice Hua case｜Money laundering and illegal gambling case opened in Macau Zhou Zhuohua denied charges for laundering rice Hua case｜Chow Zhuohua was charged with 289 crimes and denied participating in the gambling scene Wife Chen Huiling was present
