Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

Deputy city council speaker Chiu Fang-chin of Chiayi, southern Taiwan, and his wife Chen Chiu-kuei were allegedly engaged in operating a multinational online gambling Web site in cooperation with other people, prosecutors said yesterday. Chiu was released after being interrogated by prosecutors on his alleged role in the case, due mainly to the Chiayi City Council still having a session. But his wife was detained lest she should collude with other suspects or ruin relevant evidence. On Friday, prosecutors questioned 12 suspects associated with a multinational money laundering gang and seized computer information related to the operations of the betting Web site. Prosecutors were also tipped that some computer systems were moved and some betting account books were ruined before they moved to raid the residences and offices of relevant suspects in the case. Prosecutors found that there were quite a few heavyweight political figures, mainly elected people's representatives such as lawmakers, involved in the scandal. In fact, prosecutors and investigators busted, in March this year, a multinational money laundering gang named "Hua Yuan Chang Group" headed by Lu Po-hsien, who used to be the "Banker-in-Chief" for the underground "Mark Six" betting operations across the Taiwan Strait, confiscating over NT$500 million in stakes and promissory banknotes valued at over NT$10 billion. Lu has been detained ever since. In the process of investigating Lu's account books in the following six months, Chiayi prosecutors found that Chen Ying-chu, the largest banker for online betting operations in Chinese communities around the world, and deputy city council speaker Chiu Fang-chin, were also involved in the case. Chen Ying-chu operates two general gambling Web sites abroad to handle all kinds of betting operations from Chinese gamblers, with Chiu Fang-chin serving as Chen's general agent in Taiwan. If the stakes were for Hong Kong's "Mark Six" lottery ticket numbers, the stakes were usually switched to Lu Po-hsien. Prosecutors found that Chen's gambling Web sites have mainly zeroed in on international baseball games, basketball games, soccer games, among others, with their daily stakes amounting to over NT$2 billion. But Chen told prosecutors that he didn't operate any gambling Web sites abroad or conduct money laundering via the "Hua Yuan Chang" Group. Meanwhile, Chiu Fang-chin stressed that he didn't get involved in the case as he didn't know how to gamble.

Both were released after interrogations by prosecutors.

But prosecutors decided to detain Chiu fang-chin's wife Chen Chiu-kuei on grounds that they seized concrete evidence attesting to her involvement in the multinational gambling scam.