Philippines' Duterte takes aim at Macau casino boss

Smart Digital Technology

07/12/2016 10:42

By Manuel Mogato and Farah Master 
    MANILA/HONG KONG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Philippines President 
Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the arrest of Jack Lam, one of 
Asia's top casino kingpins, on charges of economic sabotage and 
bribery, according to the country's police chief. 
    Philippine authorities said they have also shut down two 
properties in the country that are owned by Lam, a Chinese 
citizen and head of Hong Kong-listed Jimei International 
 1159.HK . 
    Lam is not in the Philippines currently, national police 
chief Ronald Dela Rosa told reporters on Wednesday. 
    Last month, Philippine immigration authorities detained 
about 1,200 Chinese men working in call centre-like facilities 
for running suspected online gambling operations out of a former 
U.S. air base, Clark Field.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1DT2TI 
    Dela Rosa said in a radio interview on Saturday that an 
associate of Lam tried to secure their release. He said Duterte 
then ordered Lam's arrest. 
    On Wednesday, Dela Rosa said Lam had indicated to the 
authorities that he was willing to return to the Philippines and 
 assist in any investigations. 
    "The feelers were to me," the police chief said. 
    Lam's casino operations in the cities of Laoag, which is in 
northern Luzon, and Clark, just north of Manila, have been shut 
down, according to local authorities and the Philippine 
Amusement and Gaming Corp.  
    Jimei said in a statement on Tuesday that Lam's gaming 
operations in the Philippines were personally owned and not part 
of the group's business. 
    "As at the date of this announcement, so far as the company 
is aware, Dr. Lam has not been held by the Philippine 
authorities," it said. 
    Jimei did not respond to requests for comment. 
    Lam, who used to bring high rollers to Macau's top casinos 
including Sands China  1928.HK  and Wynn Macau  1128.HK , has 
faded from prominence over the past few years as Beijing's 
crackdown on corruption has crippled so-called junket 
operations.  
    At the same time, Lam's operations in the Philippines have 
grown, including a rise in Chinese nationals gambling online at 
his gaming site. 
 
 (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) 
 ((farah.master@thomsonreuters.com; +852 28431631 , +852 9631 
8262; Reuters Messaging: 
farah.master.thomsonreuters@thomsonreuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PHILIPPINES MACAU/ARRESTS