The "little gambling king" Xi Mihua was arrested, his net worth was tens of billions, and all kinds of prostitutes fell, all in vain
The Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's case report only mentioned that the amount involved in Zhou Zhuohua's case was "particularly large", and did not disclose the specific amount. The data reported by the Economic Information Daily that year can be used as a reference: Suncity Group's online gambling platform has become a "black hole for sucking money". In the past four years of operation, hundreds of thousands of members have been developed, and the investment amount in the mainland has exceeded one trillion yuan within one year. , equivalent to nearly double the total revenue of China's lottery of 511.47 billion yuan in 2018.
window. DATA.videoArr.push({"title": "Macao judicial police confirm arrest of Zhou and 11 others, suspect escorted to procuratorate wearing hood", "vid": "i3311ae1pso", "img": "http: suspect escorted to the prosecutor's office with a hood. Duration approx. 1 min 12 sec "});
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Author: Long summer
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Edit: Ershui
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Editor: Su Su
Macau gambling junket "bigwig" Zhou Zhuohua arrested.
At 19:00 on November 26, the Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau reported that Zhou Zhuohua was suspected of the crime of opening a casino in China and had been arrested with the approval of the Wenzhou Municipal People's Procuratorate.
According to the Macau SAR government, Zhou Zhuohua is currently at the police station.
Hong Kong media reported photos of Zhou Zhuohua's arrest.
From a "businessman" to a net worth of tens of billions, and now he is arrested, the other side of 47-year-old Zhou Zhuohua is gradually emerging.
Arrest notice reveals 'serious circumstances'
Zhou Zhuohua, a resident of Macau, China, is a shareholder and director of Macau Suncity Gaming Agency One Person Limited.
The so-called gaming junket, simply put, is a form of business that provides gamblers with various amenities such as transportation, accommodation, and catering, attracts them to spend money at the casino, and then collects commissions or other remuneration in return.
In 1986, "gambling king" Stanley Ho set up the "Diamond VIP Room" for the first time in his Lisbon casino. The lobby is run by junkets and the casino receives a commission from it. The steady stream of gamblers brings a lot of profit to both parties. Seeing this, many casinos have followed suit and opened VIP room business. At the same time, hundreds of overseas casino junkets also appeared.
Zhou Zhuohua's gambling institution, Suncity, is the largest gambling institution in Macau in recent years. Previously, he was called "Little Gambling King", "New Gambling King" and "Casino King" by Hong Kong and Macao media. Whenever he attends public events, he attracts Hong Kong and Macau media coverage. How was it suddenly suspected?
Article 303 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China: Whoever gathers a crowd to gamble or gamble for the purpose of winning shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or surveillance, and a fine. Whoever opens a casino shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or surveillance, and a fine; If a crime is constituted, it shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years. where the circumstances are serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined.
Zhou Zhuohua illegally opened a casino.
According to a case report issued by the Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, in July 2020, the bureau opened a case for investigation into the opening of a casino. This year, the agency found that a cross-border gambling criminal syndicate, led by Zhou Zhuohua, was suspected of committing serious crimes by opening casinos in China.
How serious is this "serious circumstance"? The Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau revealed a set of data: as of July 2020, the cross-border gambling criminal group headed by Zhou Zhuohua had developed a total of 199 shareholder-level agents, more than 12,000 gambling agents, and more than 80,000 domestic gambling agents. Those. Gambling members in the mainland. The amount of money involved in this case was extremely large, which seriously undermined the social management order on the mainland.
According to the criminal facts ascertained by the public security organs, and in accordance with the law, the Wenzhou Municipal People's Procuratorate decided to arrest Zhou Zhuohua on suspicion of the crime of opening a casino.
Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau case report.
At 2 p.m. on November 28, the Judicial Police of the Macao SAR Government held a press conference on the arrest of Zhou Zhuohua. It is reported that the Macao judicial police arrested 11 people involved in the case the day before and brought them back to the police station for investigation. During the operation, the police seized computers, servers, telephones and 3 million patacas (about 2.38 million yuan). After preliminary questioning, Zhou Zhuohua admitted that he had set up an online platform overseas to carry out relevant criminal activities, but refused to cooperate with other investigations. The police said that the case was learned and investigated by the Police District Police Department based on intelligence collected in 2019, and then transferred the case to the Macau Procuratorate for investigation.
The amount of money involved was particularly large
It is worth noting that Zhou Zhuohua's suspected crime has been previously traced - as early as July 8, 2019, the Economic Information Daily reported on Zhou Zhuohua's cross-border gambling platform with Suncity Group.
"There are no geographical restrictions, and the servers abroad are very secure." According to reports, every time a guest goes to the offline VIP room of Suncity Group to play, the account manager will introduce the group's online betting platform.
After registering an account, mainland gamblers can watch real-time videos of casinos in the Philippines, Cambodia and other places on the platform, and place bets remotely through mobile phones or apps. The voice function of the APP not only supports Mandarin, but also supports Cantonese, Northeast dialect and other dialects, which is almost specially designed for the mainland market.
Some gamblers said that the grand scene with the luxury casino as the background, transmitted through cameras and the Internet, "gives people a strong sense of realism."
Since there are no chips, cash and other physical objects in hand, gamblers lack psychological pressure when placing bets and are more addicted. There are many cases of high debt and bankruptcy. Some people lost more than 13 million yuan in three years. What is even more exaggerated is that gamblers' gambling funds can be settled directly in RMB in the mainland. The platform has a dedicated mainland gaming funds settlement department. Every year, tens of billions of gambling funds are collected on countless mainland bank cards and then flowed overseas through underground banks.
Sun City online gambling platform. Image source: Economic Information Daily
The Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's case report only mentioned that the amount involved in Zhou Zhuohua's case was "particularly large", and did not disclose the specific amount.
The data reported by the Economic Information Daily that year can be used as a reference: Suncity Group's online gambling platform has become a "black hole for sucking money". In the past four years of operation, hundreds of thousands of members have been developed, and the investment amount in the mainland has exceeded one trillion yuan within one year. , equivalent to nearly double the total revenue of China's lottery of 511.47 billion yuan in 2018.
Immediately after the article was published, it caused an uproar in China, especially Macao. The share price of Suncity Group, listed in Hong Kong, fell by 20% at one point, and there were even rumors of "Zhou Zhuohua's departure".
A few days later, Suncity Group held a press conference, which Zhou Zhuohua rarely presided over, saying that the content of the report was "completely untrue."
"I was in Japan last week, and I was very surprised after the incident broke out, and the group immediately clarified, but it was even rumored that I was under investigation and wanted in the mainland, so I had to show up to refute the rumor Zhou Zhuohua swore at the press conference that Suncity Group has always operated in accordance with the law and has never violated the laws of the mainland or Macau.
At the time, he apologized for the negative impact the news event could have on the Macau government and gaming industry. He also announced that he would no longer conduct telephone betting and stop promoting overseas business in Macau to avoid falling into a gray area of online gambling. Zhou Zhuohua particularly emphasized, "We are Macao institutions and Macao enterprises. As a resident of the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, my career is in Macau, my family is in Macau, my roots are in Macao, and my heart is in Macao." For the Motherland! ”
Zhou Zhuohua (left) holds a press conference.
Now it seems that Zhou Zhuohua's suspected crimes such as opening casinos, organizing Chinese citizens to engage in cross-border online gambling activities, and using illegal channels such as underground banks to provide fund settlement services for gamblers have almost all been covered up. Previous reports.
When the Wenzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau released the case report, Zhou Zhuohua had not yet been arraigned. The Public Security Bureau urged him to turn himself in as soon as possible and seek leniency.
The next day, on the afternoon of November 27, the website of the Macao SAR Government announced the latest development: Zhou Zhuohua and other people involved in the case had been taken away by the Macao police for investigation in the early morning of the same day.
In this government news, the Macao SAR Government reiterated that all persons engaged in the gaming industry in Macao must strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations of the State and the Macao SAR. Any suspected violation of the laws and regulations of the Macao Special Administrative Region will be prosecuted in accordance with the law and will not be tolerated.
The Macau SAR government stressed that gaming operators must strictly abide by the law.
Start as a grassroots "intermediary".
This time was exposed as a criminal suspect, Zhou Zhuohua's life story once again attracted attention. His ancestral home is Zhaoqing, Guangdong, and his grandfather's generation moved to Macau with his family. However, the Zhou family did not achieve a jump in rank after arriving in Macau. When Zhou Zhuohua was born in 1974, his family was still mediocre and even poor.
With no financial background, he dropped out of school early before the age of 20 to enter society. Soon, Zhou Zhuohua found that society did not leave much room for young people like him to develop. "At that time, Macautians wanted to work in some big institutions and needed the wealth guarantee of two Portuguese. Even if inside, all senior positions are Portuguese. He said in an interview with the media years later.
In the 90s of the 20th century, Macau had not yet returned to China, but the gaming industry was already very prosperous, and many Macau people were employed in casinos. In 1994, Zhou Zhuohua also found a job in a casino and became an "intermediary boy" under "big brother" Yin Guoju.
Zhou Zhuohua (left) and Yin Guoju.
The so-called "intermediary" is a person who introduces gamblers to casinos and provides loan services to gamblers. It can be said to be the predecessor of gambling junkets.
The Huili Casino controlled by Yin Guoju is the only casino in Macau connected to the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal. There is about a transition. Entertainment is a 5-minute walk from the marina. Zhou Zhuohua has been looking for customers on this bridge all year long: "Sir, do you want to help?" Do you have enough money? ”
At that time, gamblers borrowed money from Stacker Boy and had to deduct 20% interest first. For example, if you borrow $10,000 and only receive $8,000, you need to repay $10,000 and deduct interest before receiving the money. This disguised subletting makes many players unhappy. So Zhou Zhuohua thought of a new method: instead of deducting interest in advance, an intermediary accompanied the player to exchange the loan into chips. Every time a gambler places a bet, Stacker takes 10% of the bet.
The newly built Pullback Casino.
The practice of not having to pay interest first makes players feel psychologically that they have more money to play with and are more willing to borrow money. And every time they enter the casino, they have to place at least dozens of bets, even all night. If the betting commission is added together, the intermediary will also get more profit.
Zhou Zhuohua's reputation was immediately established. It just so happened that during that time, Hong Kong TVB broadcast the TV series "City Story". One of the characters nicknamed "Ximihua" looks a bit like Zhou Zhuohua, and "Ximihua" has become Zhou Zhuohua's nickname.
According to Hong Kong media reports, Chow's first jackpot was actually related to online gambling, which led to his defeat. In 1998, sensing the arrival of the Internet wave, he was the first to obtain an online gambling license in the Philippines and operated a gambling website, which was very popular with gamblers.
Relevant business people estimate that Zhou Zhuohua has accumulated a wealth of at least 1 billion Hong Kong dollars (1 Hong Kong dollar is about 0.8197 yuan) through this - it can be said that Zhou Zhuohua has made a lot of money before many peers reacted.
In 2007, Zhou Zhuohua founded Suncity Group in Macau and began to build his own gaming junket empire. He did everything he could to grow his business: he pioneered SMS marketing in the industry and pioneered a customer relationship management system that accurately records the habits of every VIP gambler. In order to cater to gamblers' love of showing off wealth, he will also develop services that others do not have, such as providing luxury RVs to gamblers.
By 2014, Suncity Group had grown from a small workshop with just a few tables to a gaming company that cooperated with Macau's six gaming license holders. Almost every casino has his VIP room, with more than 300 tickets, making it the highest-paid gaming company in Macau.
Zhou Zhuohua and Suncity Group.
On this basis, Zhou Zhuohua began to get involved in tourism, catering, finance, real estate and other industries. The Group's business expanded overseas, covering Australia, Russia, Cambodia, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam. And founded Sun Entertainment Culture and entered the entertainment industry. In 2009, Zhou Zhuohua established the "Poker King Club" at StarWorld Macau, and produced a movie called "Poker King" for this purpose, inviting Koo Tianle and Liu Qingyun to star.
Today, Sun Entertainment Culture has invested in the production of nearly 65 films with a total box office of HK$13 billion. These include artists such as Andy Hui and Janice Man. Zhou Zhuohua also served as a co-producer and producer of several films.
With the support of diversified businesses, Zhou Zhuohua has become one of the richest people in Hong Kong and Macau. He is rumored to be worth more than HK$10 billion.
Private life is a mess
Many mainland netizens have an impression of Zhou Zhuohua not because he has a successful career, but because his private life is quite "bloody" and gossip is constant.
A widely circulated news is that on Zhou Zhuohua's 39th birthday, he booked a three-story hotel in Macau to celebrate. There were about a dozen security guards on site, and each guest checked the invitation. Zhou Zhuohua, who likes to be lively, ordered people to set up a scene by the pool and invited a group of young models in bikinis to enliven the atmosphere.
According to Hong Kong and Macao media reports, Zhou Zhuohua once had two wives. The first wife broke up due to personality differences, and the second and current wife is Chen Huiling, known as "Simi's wife" by the media.
Zhou Zhuohua (right) and his wife Chen Huiling attend the event.
Chen Huiling was originally an insurance salesman and met Zhou Zhuohua while doing business. After the two got married, Zhou Zhuohua still often exposed scandals about private meetings with actresses and models, but the couple's relationship remained stable until the appearance of model Liu Bili in 2015.
Liu Bili is of mixed American and Malaysian descent, 11 years younger than Zhou Zhuohua. She made her early debut in a malay oil commercial. Her outstanding beauty has touched countless people and is called "Magnolia Oil Girl" by netizens. In 2015, some media in Hong Kong photographed Zhou Zhuohua and Liu Bili holding hands on the street and returning home. The high-profile "Hand in Hand of the Century" immediately made the front pages of many media outlets. Chen Huiling filed for divorce, but Zhou Zhuohua did not agree.
Zhou Zhuohua (right) and Liu Bili hold hands on the street.
The two women were together until last year. During this period, Liu Bili gave birth to three daughters and a son for Zhou Zhuohua. She now lives in the UK and is a columnist.
As for "Ximi's sister-in-law" Chen Huiling, as always, she often posts photos of family happiness on social platforms. The last time she posted a photo of Zhou Zhuohua was in September this year. At that time, Zhou Zhuohua brought her eldest daughter to the coffee flower shop she invested in to inspect the business.
Is Zhou Zhuohua's life really as happy and happy as he appears? Unnecessary.
A review of public information found that since he was exposed by the media as a suspected illegal crime in 2019, there have been some rifts between Zhou Zhuohua and his radiant Sunshine City. In early August 2019, Australian media reported that Zhou Zhuohua had been banned from entering Australia by the Ministry of Home Affairs on suspicion of involvement in organized crime. Suncity Group clarified this, but the group's share price continued to fluctuate.
At the end of August 2021, Zhou Zhuohua sold all his shares in Sun International (a financial company within the Suncity system) and paid more than HK$70 million, nearly HK$1.1 billion less than this year's high for the stock.
In addition, Suncity Group has also been accused of money laundering and supporting "Hong Kong independence". In this regard, Zhou Zhuohua said that he would never support any behavior that harmed the country, and suggested actively strengthening gambling supervision, including promoting real-name registration of customers, transparent financing channels, and restricting the credit limit of mainland tourists to Australia.
Zhou Zhuohua video responded to the 2020 rumors.
At the beginning of 2021, he also took this opportunity to look forward to the new year, once again reiterated the need to be patriotic and law-abiding, and stressed "resolutely implementing the spirit of patriotism and love for Macao".
In recent years, the mainland's efforts to crack down on cross-border gambling have been strengthened. Since 2020, the Ministry of Public Security, together with relevant departments, has continued to crack down on cross-border gambling, destroying more than 3,400 online gambling platforms, more than 2,800 illegal payment platforms and underground banks, more than 1,300 illegal technical teams, and more than 2,200 illegal technical teams. Gambling promotion platform. More than one. In 2021, cross-border gambling crimes were criminalized for the first time.
Does Zhou Zhuohua, who has always been an excellent dancer, have a hunch that what he has done is about to be exposed? We don't know. But it is clear that his cover operation will never be able to hide the fact that he is guilty.
"Watch him build a Zhu Lou, watch him entertain guests, watch his building collapse!" This sentence in "Dream of Red Mansions" has also become the best commentary on the first 47 years of Zhou Zhuohua's life.