Washing Mihua case｜Zhou Zhuohua was sentenced to 18 years in prison for being involved in the underworld, illegally operating gambling, fraud and other crimes

Macau businessman and founder of Suncity Group (1383), Zhou Zhuohua (nicknamed "Xi Mihua"), was arrested in Macau in November 2021 and charged with a total of 289 crimes including establishing and directing a criminal group, money laundering and illegal gambling. The Macau government underpaid 8.26 billion yuan in gaming taxes, and the Macau court will pronounce a verdict today (18th).

The case opened at 9:30 in the morning. Zhou Zhuohua was sent by the authorities in a prison car from Luhuan Prison to the Criminal Building of the Primary Court. The judge later pronounced that Zhou Zhuohua founded and led a criminal group, 103 counts of legal gambling in permitted places, and 54 counts of equivalent He was convicted of fraud, 3 counts of substantial fraud, and 1 count of illegal gambling, but he was not found guilty of aggravated money laundering.

The judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison for all charges.

Zhou Zhuohua was escorted to the Macau Basic Court this morning (January 18) to await sentencing.

(provided by readers)

▼Zhou Zhuohua's 289 charges▼

．

1 count of founding and leading a criminal group (conviction): 12 years in prison

．

229 counts of illegally operating gambling in a licensed place (103 counts): 1 year and 6 months in prison

．

54 counts of equivalent fraud (conviction): 5 years in prison

．

3 counts of considerable fraud (conviction): 3 years in prison

．

1 count of illegal gambling operation (conviction): 1 year and 6 months in prison

．

1 count of aggravated money laundering (excused)

▼On November 26, 2021, the Macau Judicial Police arrested 11 suspects involved in illegal gambling and money laundering cases▼

+10

Overview of the sentencing of the defendants in the Zhou Zhuohua case:

▼On November 27, 2021, Zhou Zhuohua was arrested by the Macau judicial police▼

+1

The case dates back to 2021. On November 26 of that year, the Zhejiang Wenzhou Procuratorate approved the arrest of Zhou Zhuohua on suspicion 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 at the time that the police had initially grasped evidence that the suspect surnamed Zhou and others were involved in illegal gambling operations more than a year earlier, and filed a case against the gang for investigation, showing that the gang was suspected of setting up an illegal webcast in the Philippines based in Macau. The betting platform, through the "live broadcast scene", attracts mainland residents as the main source of tourists to conduct huge illegal online gambling, and uses the company account in Macau 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.

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

Just relying on an Excel report can be charged with 229 crimes.

"Xi Mi Hua" Zhou Zhuohua

I don't know that Dianjie will become a criminal group or a gangster.

"Xi Mi Hua" Zhou Zhuohua

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