(CHINA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY) - RTX117JZ

Suncity Group announces trade halt

Hong Kong-listed Suncity Group Holdings Limited has announced a share trading halt starting from 9:00am today (Monday) to prepare an announcement concerning the news coverage of the arrest of Alvin Chau Wa, the group’s executive director, chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of the company.

Suncity Group is the Hong Kong-listed arm of local junket operator Suncity but it’s completely separate from its junket operations.

Macau police authorities announced yesterday that Chau along with 10 others had been arrested in an investigation on a crime syndicate accused of operating illegal gaming activities and money laundering.

The investigation was said to have begun in August 2019 and was heightened to a special case with an in-depth investigation in April 2020.

The other 10 suspects of the case, either Macau or Hong Kong residents, are senior executives of a company, but PJ did not comment whether all of them are Suncity executives.

Other companies linked to Chau and the group have also made announcements after the incident, with Summit Ascent Holdings Limited – an indirect subsidiary responsible for the Tigre de Cristal integrate resort in Vladivostok, Russia also announcing a trading halt in the Hong Kong Stock exchange effective from 9:00am.

Meanwhile, Sun Entertainment Group Limited an arm of the group focused on investment in and production/organization of films and concerts and other media and entertainment related businesses issued a statement in the stock exchange distancing itself from the arrest of its controlling shareholder, stating that Chau had merely been ‘assisting’ the investigation by the Macau Judiciary Police over the previous investigation by the Wenzhou Public Security Bureau.

Chau had been initially detained on Saturday morning by Macau police authorities following an arrest warrant issued by authorities in Mainland China’s Wenzhou city over alleged cross-border gambling activities.

‘The news coverage is related to the personal affairs of Mr. Chau. The board is of the view that the incident does not have any material impact on the financial position, business or operation of the group,’ Sun Entertainment said in an announcement signed by chairman Alex Choi.