June 26, 2015, the Hong Kong police announced they have charged a prominent junket investor with money laundering. Cheung Chi-tai is charged with laundering 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars, approximately $231 million USD through a southern Chinese city bank. He is an investor with Neptune Group and facing three counts of money laundering, according to the publically released charge sheet. Police have been investigating Cheung since November. The Hong Kong courts granted a freezing court order on his assets under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.
Cheung has faced allegations that he has ties to the Chinese criminal syndicate known as triads. In a 1992 U.S. Senate subcommittee report, Cheung was named as one of the top nine lieutenants as part of the Wo Hop To triad. In 2011, a Hong Kong court case identified Cheung as a triad leader.
The case stated that Cheung ordered a subordinate of his to kill a casino dealer working at Sands Macau. He was not charged with any triad related crimes and no charges were brought against him during the 2011 case.
The money laundering investigation of Cheung and others in Macau is a long time project of the Hong Kong government to reduce criminal activity occurring through Junket operators. Junket operators are the middlemen for VIP Chinese gamblers to travel to Macau. They lend money to the VIP gamblers and collect any debts after they return home. The government suspects the operators work with organized crime because there is no legal, enforceable way to obtain payment for the debts.
Cheung’s known business associated Carson Yeung, was involved in a money laundering trial in 2013. He was also a major shareholder of Neptune Group. Yeung was also a former owner of the Birmingham City Football Club. According to stock exchange information Cheung’s filings show he has a 12.9 percent stake in Neptune Group as of 2007, but in 2008 he supposedly sold the entire percentage. It is unclear if he still retains stock in Neptune since the reports are conflicting.