Former Macau junket operator Paul Phua, accused of running an illegal World Cup gambling operation in Las Vegas, has a prior conviction in Malaysia for the same offense.
Paul Phua Wei-seng, a Malaysian native from Sarawak, was arrested in Miri in 2004 and convicted for his involvement in an illegal betting scheme during the European Championship soccer tournament, reported by independent news outfit Malaysiakini.
He was slapped with a hefty fine and left the country soon after his conviction, reportedly to Vietnam to escape people who lost money when the betting operation was going bust.
Phua was even barred from re-entering the country during the World Cup in 2008.
This adds to what has become the ongoing saga of Phua’s case, following a controversial announcement of Malaysia’s minister of home affairs Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last month that Phua was assisting the government on issues of national security.
Phua was one of eight individuals arrested in July on charges of operating an illegal FIFA World Cup betting business out of three luxury villas at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Just weeks before this arrest, Phua was also among two-dozen individuals arrested in what Macau officials called the largest illegal sports betting bust on local record. US prosecutors submitted documents alleging that Phua had secured his Macau release via “under the table” payments to local police. The feds claim to have learned of these alleged bribes via instant messages sent by Phua’s 23-year-old son Darren, who was also among those arrested in Vegas.
The sum being negotiated was said to be between HKD 4m and 5m (US $515k – $645k) but Phua’s attorney David Chesnoff denied the allegations, which he said were “only cited to prejudice” his client and relied on illegally obtained evidence. Phua and his son are the only two defendants in the Vegas arrest still fighting the charges.
The man once known as “The Shot” was Macau’s top earning junket operator a decade ago, before becoming a prominent high-stakes poker player.
