- Joined
- Jul 3, 2015
- Messages
- 41
- Points
- 0
Hong Kong court allows casino junket operator in HK$1.8 billion dirty cash case to visit mainland China
Court returns travel permit to man accused of laundering cash so he can visit mainland
PUBLISHED : Friday, 25 September, 2015, 12:00am
UPDATED : Friday, 25 September, 2015, 3:27am
Chris Lau
[email protected]
A masked Cheung Chi-tai makes his second appearance at Eastern Court yesterday. Photo: Sam Tsang
A court yesterday allowed a prominent Macau casino junket operator facing trial on charges that he laundered almost HK$2 billion-worth of criminal funds through banks in Hong Kong to leave the city and visit the mainland.
Cheung Chi-tai was making his second court appearance since being granted bail following his surrender to police in Hong Kong in June. At that time the 54-year-old businessman was ordered to surrender his home return permit - the document a Hong Kong Chinese resident requires to cross the border into the mainland.
However, at Eastern Court yesterday, Cheung's lawyer Kevin Tang asked the court to lift the travel ban and return his client's travel document as he had "business to do" on the mainland.
Magistrate So Wai-tak accepted the request and the prosecution made no objection.
Cheung denies laundering HK$1.8 billion through bank accounts in Hong Kong between 2004 and 2010.
Tang said Cheung had at least three potential project sites that he would like to visit: in Dongguan , Zhuhai and Shanghai. If they came off, the three projects would involve investments totalling HK$175 million.
"If the projects work out in six months, he would be willing to give the travel document back to the court," said Tang, adding that the defendant was able to pay HK$100,000 on top of the HK$200,000 he paid in bail money at his June appearance in court.
As part of his argument, he reminded the magistrate that Cheung had surrendered to police in June to assist their investigation. The magistrate then ordered the defendant to pay the HK$100,000 by today.
The first charge against Cheung alleges that between January 2, 2004 and May 4, 2010, he dealt with "property" - HK$828,509,955.30 deposited into his Bank of China account in Hong Kong - he knew in whole or in part directly or indirectly represented the proceeds of an indictable offence.
Junket operators will have to disclose their sources of funding. Photo: Robert Ng
The second charge involves HK$951,154,573.70 deposited into the same account.
The third charge alleges that Cheung dealt with some HK$11,095,574.04 deposited into his account at Liu Chong Hing Bank - now renamed Chong Hing Bank - which he knew in whole or in part directly or indirectly represented proceeds of an indictable offence.
Prosecutors asked for a six-month adjournment, citing the complexity involved in investigating a large number of bank accounts and investigations that had to be carried out in Macau.
The magistrate adjourned the case to March 24 next year.
