The Star casino report reveals the Hong Kong Partner Hid relationship with Junket Operator

In 2022, the Government of Queensland ordered an investigation into the company following the accusations of the media, including which shared an interest in a Vietnam casino with Chau.

The company’s lawyers had told the investigators of the office for the liqueurs regulation and Queensland games that CTFE was no longer associated with Chau or the Vietnam project. Both sides had come out of the company that had been established to buy equity in the Vietnam project before, they recommended lawyers.

“CTFH eliminated the entire control participation … In April 2016 in Alpha was Investments Limited (which is) owned by a rich and well -connected investor of third parties,” the lawyers wrote.

“Chow Tai Fook Group is not involved in the property, management, administration or financing of all people associated with Suncity, Alvin Chau or their collaborators.”

But in the face of further tests discovered by Olgr and independent consultant PKF Integrity Services at the end of 2023, CTFE admitted that the company had sold only half of its share in the Vietnam project at the Alpha era and the other half of a company owned by Chau. One of his managers had remained in the Executive Committee for the Vietnam Project.

And the connections between CTFE and Alpha were surprisingly close. The subsequent owners of the Alpha era were employees of the CTF and CTFE group, financed their purchase of the company through loans initially without documents based on a “handshake agreement”, which were outstanding for an amount of $ 388 million ($ 617 million) starting from 2023. Ctfe briefly possessed the company after the death of the first owner.

CTFE also provided significant managerial, administrative and legal support to the Alpha era and a CTFE manager was authorized to sign documents on behalf of the owner.

The investigators of the integrity division of PKF have questioned five senior managers at the CTFE for a week in November to release these revelations. Those who provided tests included dr. Henry Cheng, president of the company and patriarch of the Cheng family, Patrick Tsang, CEO of Ctfe and husband of the grandson of Cheng Selena.

The managers claimed that the company was not involved in the Vietnam project, simply lending 338 million dollars to a friend who worked in the company and walked away from Chau.

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The CEO Patrick Tsang said he was aware of the accusations against Chau, but the company rely on third -party consultants to make appropriate control.

“Obviously we know Alvin Chau,” Tsang said.

“If we go back to that period of time, he is one of the most successful players in Macao. He has a reputation, he has friends, he goes out with the stars of cinema. It is like a celebrity. We know the news that surrounds him? Yes, we are aware of this … but at that time he is authorized to operate globally, right?”

Tsang denied the suggestions that Ctfe had created Alpha to get away from the Vietnam project.

The investigative team also investigated the group’s connections with Chinese triads, which presumably used a CTFE branch, “New World Developments” as a seat for meetings and front for money laundering. But he discovered that the accusation was not proven.

The CEO Henry Cheng denied the accusations of having a relationship with the alleged boss of the triad Kwok Wing Hung – known as Shanghai Boy – which has been variously accused of intimidation, blackmail, aggression and criminal damage, but not convicted.

Cheng’s lawyers said the couple only met once in a “meeting on the unwanted occasion … in a dinner”, but the couple had not spoken and had no further contacts.

But PKF discovered that the accusation according to which the CTF group had a hidden relationship with a non -reputation person, Alvin Chau, through a continuous interest in the Vietnam project, has been proven.

His report also examined if CTFE, Tsang and Cheng were suitable for managing a casino “taking into account character, honesty and integrity” as requested by law and discovered that each had provided misleading information to the regulator.

“In our opinion, CTfe provided incorrect, incomplete and/or inconsistent information in his presentation to Olgr,” concluded the report.

But the Government of Queensland announced on May 2 that he approved CTFE to keep his participation of 25 % in Queens Wharf, stating that there was not enough evidence to find CTFE or his associates unsuitable for holding a casino license, following further advice from Kings Counsel.

The accusation according to which Chau was of little reputation was lacking in evidentiary value since it was based on voices and suspicions, and therefore CTFE had no reason to intentionally hide his relationship with him, determined the former prosecutor general Yvette d’Ard.

“The attorney general discovered that CTFE was missing from Candore and Fulsomene in different relations with Olgr and previously adopted a restricted interpretation of Olgr’s requests for information,” said his statement on May 2.

“This is intended to be based on the differences in cultural and organizational expectations. However, the tests are not up to establishing that the concealment was deliberated.

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“The Prosecutor General noticed CTFE’s apologies and insurance companies on future communication
with the regulator. “

Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) and his partner Far East Consortium Agreement to buy the participation of Star Entertainment Group in the Queens Wharf Casino district of $ 4 billion in Brisbano at the beginning of this month saved the Cash short star from the financial collapse.

He said in a declaration a The Australian Financial Review After the issue of the report on the investigations that was engaged in Queens Wharf.

“We have always respected the important role of the (regulator) and we faithfully participated in its investigations, offering key managers for interviews and sharing commercial information in terms of trust. We assured, in return, that the resulting relationship would remain confidential,” said the company.

“When that confidential relationship was leaked to the media, we took measures to protect our commercial interests.”

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