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Macau · Court of First / Second / Final InstanceVERIFIED

Levo Chan / Tak Chun Group — Macau junket conviction

Levo Chan Weng Lin & co-defendants — Tak Chun Group

Incident type
Junket fraud · Criminal organisation · AML
Conduct period
approx. 2016–2022
First-instance verdict
2023-04-21
Final adjudication
2024-11-28
Status
Final
Last verified
2026-05-02

Summary

Levo Chan Weng Lin, chairman of Tak Chun Group — Macau's second-largest casino junket operator at peak — was arrested in January 2022 and subsequently convicted of illegal gambling, criminal association, and money laundering. The Court of First Instance sentenced Chan to 14 years' imprisonment on 21 April 2023. The Court of Second Instance reduced the sentence to 13 years on 12 January 2024, acquitted the defendants of fraud, and ordered AUD-equivalent compensation of approximately HK$2.49 billion. The Court of Final Appeal upheld the 13-year sentence on 28 November 2024 and reduced collective compensation to HK$1.83 billion (MOP 1.63 billion plus individual surcharges of MOP 201.3 million). The case parallels Suncity / Alvin Chau and marked the dismantling of Macau's dominant junket model.

Timeline

VERIFIED

  1. Tak Chun operates 'betting under the table' (proxy betting) in VIP rooms across multiple Macau concessionaires.

  2. Macau Judiciary Police arrest Chan and others on suspicion of criminal association, illegal gambling, and money laundering.

  3. Court of First Instance convicts Chan on 34 counts including unlawful gambling, criminal syndicate operation, fraud, and money laundering; sentences him to 14 years.

  4. Court of Second Instance reduces sentence to 13 years; acquits all five defendants of fraud; orders collective compensation of approximately HK$2.49 billion to the Macau SAR.

  5. Court of Final Appeal upholds 13-year prison sentence; dismisses both prosecution and defence appeals; reduces collective compensation to HK$1.83 billion (MOP 1.63 billion collective plus MOP 201.3 million individual surcharges for Chan and two others).

The operation

VERIFIED
  • Tak Chun operated proxy betting in VIP rooms across multiple Macau concessionaires, including Wynn Macau, Sands China, SJM Resorts, Galaxy Entertainment Group, and MGM China — five of the six concessionaires.
  • Illegal operations were estimated to involve total transaction values of approximately USD 4.5 billion, with Chan personally earning approximately USD 200 million.
  • The Court of Final Appeal confirmed convictions on 24 counts of illegal gambling in a licensed area, one count of illegal gambling, and one count of aggravated money laundering; fraud charges were not upheld.
  • Co-defendants Cherie Wong Pui Keng and Betty Cheong Sao Pek received 9 years; Wayne Lio Weng Hang received 10 years; Edward Lee Tat Chuen received 7 years.
  • The Court of Final Appeal ruled that compensation should be paid to the Macau SAR government rather than to individual casino concessionaires, reversing the Court of First Instance's approach. This mirrors the Suncity Court of Second Instance ruling of October 2023.

Primary sources

  1. Macao court sentences Tak Chun Group ex-boss 14 years of jail over illegal gambling, gang crimes — Xinhua / English.news.cn, 2023-04-21 [link]
  2. Macau junket boss Levo Chan jailed for illegal gambling, money laundering — The Straits Times, 2023-04-21 [link]
  3. Court confirms Tak Chun boss prison sentence, reduces fine — GGRAsia, 2024-11-29 [link]
  4. Macau's Court of Final Appeal upholds former Tak Chun boss Levo Chan's 13-year prison sentence — Asia Gaming Brief, 2024-11-29 [link]

Analysis — surveillance & operations perspective

ANALYSIS

Editorial commentary by Surveillance Intelligence Asia. Opinion — clearly distinguished from the verified facts above.

Tak Chun is the second pin in the modern Macau junket prosecution pattern, after Suncity. Chan's case followed Chau's by approximately 14 months in arrest and 16 months in final adjudication. The shorter sentence (13 vs 18 years) and lower restitution (HK$1.83B vs HK$24.8B) reflect the smaller scale of operations rather than a different framework — same charges (criminal organisation, illegal gambling, aggravated money laundering), same modus (proxy and multiplier rooms across multiple concessionaires).

The Court of Final Appeal's redirection of compensation entirely to the Macau SAR — rather than to concessionaires — follows the same pattern as Suncity's October 2023 Court of Second Instance ruling. Macau courts have consistently held that the harm in junket fraud is to the SAR's tax base and licensing framework, not to individual concessionaires whose VIP rooms hosted the conduct. This matters operationally: concessionaires recovered nothing from either case, and remain exposed to the next iteration of the same risk if any future junket attempts a similar pattern.

Tak Chun operated across Wynn, Sands China, SJM, Galaxy, and MGM China — five of six concessionaires. The 2022 reform that limits each junket to one concessionaire premise was specifically designed to break this multi-licensee pattern. The Tak Chun and Suncity prosecutions together justify that reform retrospectively.

Lessons (observation, not prescription)

  • Junket prosecutions follow a template that successive defendants will not escape by being smaller.
  • Compensation flows to the state in Macau junket cases — concessionaire indemnification is unrealistic.
  • The 2022 single-concessionaire restriction is the operational fix; the prosecutions are the deterrent.

Last verified: 2026-05-02. Errors? Email corrections@surveillanceasia.com. Corrections published within 72 hours per editorial process.