Macau, China, Aug. 20, 2026 (Lusa) - Macau businessman Levo Chan, who is currently serving a prison sentence for illegal gambling operations and money laundering, has lost an appeal in a Taiwanese court regarding several frozen bank accounts.
According to the Taiwanese media outlet FTNN, the High Court of Taiwan (Formosa) upheld the lower court's ruling on Monday, dismissing the civil action brought by Chan against the bank and concluding that the financial institution had acted lawfully in freezing the accounts under the island's anti-money laundering legislation. The ruling is still subject to appeal.
Levo Chan, a Macau resident and former head of the Tak Chun group – once the territory's second-largest VIP gambling operator – was sentenced in Macau in 2021 to 13 years' imprisonment for criminal association and the operation of illegal gambling. The businessman opened foreign currency accounts with Taipei Fubon Bank in June 2020.
According to court documents, in April 2024, the accounts held $202,283 (around €182,000) and HK$50 million (around €5.8 million).
In an attempt to access the funds, Chan authorised his wife, Ann Hsu, a Taiwanese actress, to make a cash withdrawal at a bank branch using the passbook and seal. The request was refused, prompting Chan to bring a civil action demanding the release of $64,546 (around €58,000).
In its defence, the Taiwanese bank Taipei Fubon Bank argued that Chan's circumstances had changed substantially since the accounts were opened, due to his criminal conviction in Macau.
The bank also pointed out that Chan, as a foreign national without residence documents in Taiwan, «was required to appear in person for certain declarations». «As he remains in custody in Macau and is unable to appear», «the bank was entitled to suspend transactions in accordance with the law», the institution claimed.
The Taiwanese media reported that court testimony indicated that Chan had been found guilty in Macau of the offences of «mafia-style association, criminal association, operating an illegal gambling business and money laundering».
According to the Macau court's judgement, Chan laundered proceeds from illegal gambling operations through legitimate revenues from the Tak Chun VIP Club, obtaining more than HK$250 million (around €29 million), which he subsequently transferred via a gambling intermediary's account to his personal account at the Bank of China.
The Taiwanese court added that Chan's accounts at Taipei Fubon received, in 2020 and 2021, large transfers in Hong Kong dollars from accounts at the Bank of China, which were subsequently converted into US dollars for the purchase of foreign bonds. The court found that these fund movements were closely linked to money-laundering activities.
«In the absence of a reasonable explanation from Chan regarding the source of the funds, the court concluded that the bank's decision to suspend transactions on the accounts was justified under anti-money laundering legislation and the account opening agreement,» the same media outlet reported.
JW/AYLS // AYLS
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