Son of accused gambling mogul Paul Phua set to plead guilty in high-profile US trial

The son of a multimillionaire former Macau junket operator is set to plead guilty in a high-profile illegal gambling case that has grabbed headlines worldwide.

Darren Phua, 23, is expected to make the plea before a judge tomorrow morning in Las Vegas, where he and his father – world-ranking poker player Paul Phua Wei-seng – stand accused of running an illegal soccer World Cup betting operation out of luxury villas in the city’s Caesars Palace hotel.

The younger Malaysian would plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanour charge related to the transmission of gambling information and would forfeit US$125,000, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported this morning citing lawyers and court documents.

The move would leave his father – who federal agents also allege is a member of Hong Kong’s notorious 14K triad – to fight the charges alone.

The case received widespread attention after it ensnared high-level politicians worldwide. In December, Malaysian Home Affairs minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi came under fire after vouching for the elder Phua in a letter to the FBI.

In the document revealed by the South China Morning Post, Zahid denied Phua was a member of the 14K and said the 51-year-old poker star was assisting the government with issues of national security.

Last month, the Centre for Investigative Reporting Montenegro reported that Phua had received Montenegrin citizenship on the recommendation of the president of the eastern European country.