Criminal charges against Paul Phua dropped
Two weeks ago Paul Phua went to trial in Macau and has now been “found innocent of all charges in a criminal case file against him years ago in Macau.” The news was distributed this week via a press release.
Just as it was the case in the U.S. trial, things basically fell apart and charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence. In the U.S. it was, because evidence had been obtained illegally and was so dismissed, in Macau “experts testified that his phone and computer records conclusively showed that he had not participated in taking any bets and had not cooperated with any betting ring.”
The press release also states: “In fact, the defense witnesses showed, Paul had arrived in Macau only just before the police raid and was there for an important meeting on a potential business project. The prosecution was unable to identify any evidence that he had engaged in any illegal activity.”
The charges on both sides of the big pond
In both cases, Phua was charged with allegations to have run and masterminded multi-million dollar, if not multi-billion dollar, illegal betting rings around the World Cup in 2014. In Macau, he was accused to run his betting operations from multiple Wynn casino hotel rooms and in Las Vegas it was a suite at Caesar’s Palace.
When he got charged in Macau, he was still allowed to travel the world while awaiting trial. After the arrest in Las Vegas, he and his son were bailed out by none other than high stakes poker pros Phil Ivey, Andrew Roble and Daniel “Jungleman” Cates for around $4.5 million total.
Phua was considered the head of the operations by government officials, but in both cases, others had also been arrested and everybody pleaded not guilty, at least in the Macau case.
Now that Phua is able to breathe freedom again, he can finally focus back on his business, the high stakes poker games and his own poker school site, PaulPhuaPoker.com.
