Melco Resorts sues former lover of jailed Macau ‘junket king’ for return of mortgaged luxury Hong Kong flat
- Court documents show Mandy Lieu was listed as the mortgagor of the flat, with junket operator Alvin Chau’s Sun City Gaming Promotion named as the borrower and Melco as the lender
- Chau was arrested in Macau last month following an investigation into the establishment of gambling platforms catering for mainland Chinese betting illegally online
Melco Resorts has sued the former lover of Macau “junket king” Alvin Chau Cheok-wa for a HK$91 million (US$11.7 million) luxury Hong Kong property she mortgaged to the company before her ex-lover’s arrest last month over alleged links to illegal cross-border gambling.
The suit was meant to secure repayment of the mortgage Mandy Lieu took out on her 38th floor unit at Argenta in the Mid-Levels on November 4, according to a writ filed by lawyers for Melco Resorts (Macau) to the High Court on Tuesday.
Macau police arrest casino junket king, 10 others over alleged gambling offences
Lieu purchased the 2,123 sq ft flat for HK$91.33 million in 2014, according to online records provided by Midland Realty and Centaline Property.
Court documents show that Lieu was listed as the mortgagor, with Chau’s Sun City Gaming Promotion named as the borrower and Melco Resorts (Macau) as the lender.
However, the filing did not disclose the mortgage value, the outstanding amount or the sum of interest being sought by the plaintiff, a subsidiary of Melco International Development, chaired by Lawrence Ho Yau-lung, son of the late gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun.
Hong Kong media previously reported that Lieu had mortgaged the flat to clear debts for Chau, the former chairman and executive director of the gaming and hospitality company Suncity Group Holdings.
Going bust: the rise and fall of Macau ‘junket king’ Alvin Chau
On November 28, Chau and 10 others were arrested by Macau authorities following an investigation into the establishment of gambling platforms outside the casino hub catering for mainland Chinese betting illegally online.
Following Chau’s arrest, Macau’s gaming operators ceased cooperation with his junket business.
Going bust: the rise and fall of Macau ‘junket king’ Alvin Chau
Suncity Group also issued a statement saying it had not been running any VIP gaming rooms in Macau, with such business carried out by Sun City Gaming Promotion Company, wholly owned by Chau.
Nicknamed “Wash Rice Wa”, a moniker borrowed from a 1980s Cantonese sitcom character who shared his surname and good looks, Chau is now in pre-trial detention to prevent him from fleeing Macau.
