Suncity Group Holdings Limited announced today that trading in its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has been halted with effect from 9:00 a.m. "pending the release of an announcement on news coverage in relation for VIP business carried out in Macau by Sun City Gaming Promotion Company Limited, which constitutes inside information of the Company."
It's the second time that trading in the company's shares has been halted this week. Trading was also halted between 9.00 a.m. on Monday and 9:00 a.m. yesterday.
According to unconfirmed local media reports, Suncity's casino VIP rooms for high-rolling gamblers stopped operating from 0:00 today.
The gaming junket operator's founder and CEO Alvin Chau Cheok Wa and four other suspects were remanded in custody on Monday for alleged money laundering, organised crime activities and illegal gaming operations. Six other suspects have been released on bail.
Saturday's arrests in Macau came after the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Wengzhou city, Zhejiang province, had issued a warrant for Chau's arrest on Friday for a range of alleged gaming-related crimes.
However, Macau's Judiciary Police (PJ) said on Sunday that the local arrests of Chau and the other 10 suspects came in the wake of investigations separate from those by their counterparts in Wengzhou.
Chau and the other suspects face up to 12 years behind bars, Macau's Public Prosecutions Office (MP) has said.
