On July 22, 2024, the Supreme People's Court released the “Typical Cases of Cross-border Gambling and Related Crimes”, and the case of opening a casino by the legal person of a technology company represented by Liu Lijie and Qian Hao was selected as the first of the six typical cases published this time because of the complexity of the legal relationship, the number of people involved, and the amount of money involved in the case. The case involved the “Macau King of Gamblers”, Chow Cheuk Wah (“Wash Mi Wah”) criminal syndicate, and so on, was selected as the first of the six typical cases announced.
Public Prosecution alleges that since 2007, Macau Suncity Gaming Intermediary Company Limited shareholder and director Zhou Zhuo Hua contracted gambling halls in casinos in Macau and other places, and in 2015 began to open in the Philippines and other places successively “SCM Union E City” “UE Global E City” and other online gambling platforms to conduct gambling. In 2015, he started to open “SCM Alliance E-City” and “UE Global E-City” in the Philippines and other places to conduct gambling activities. In order to make illegal profits, Zhou CHC has organized citizens in China to participate in cross-border gambling by developing shareholder-level agents and gambling agents, luring agents at all levels to provide high commissions, and promoted online gambling platforms to citizens in China; set up an asset management company in China to provide services for gamblers to exchange their assets for gambling chips, and to assist customers in cross-border fund redemption and recovery of gambling debts; and utilized underground money changers in China and other The third party for the gamblers to provide gambling payment and settlement; through the Chinese territory technology companies to provide gambling management, funds settlement, vehicle services and other technical support; set up a company in China for Chinese citizens to go abroad to gamble to provide vehicle pick-up and drop-off services, etc., to organize Chinese citizens to go abroad to gamble in the Sun City gambling halls, participate in cross-border network gambling, and gradually formed to Zhou Zhuo Hua as the leader, with the Defendant Zhang Moumou, Zhong Moumou, Lai Moumou and other backbone, and Defendant Peng Moumou and others, to provide gambling services. Zhou Zhuo Hua as the leader, with Defendants Zhang Moumou, Zhong Moumou, Lai Moumou and many others as the backbone, Defendants Peng Moumou, Mai Moumou and many others as the members, fixed personnel, clear hierarchical level, large number of people of cross-border gambling criminal group. As of November 2021, the cross-border gambling criminal group headed by Zhou Zhuo Hua implemented the crime of opening casinos, developed more than 400 shareholder-level agents (including 283 Chinese nationals), more than 60,000 gambling agents (including 38,307 Chinese nationals), and developed more than 60,000 members of gamblers in China, and the amount of money involved was particularly huge, which seriously disrupted the order of social management and the order of market economy.
Liu Lijie lawyer team accepts the client entrusted, timely, comprehensive, reasoned defense work, get the client and the case authorities fully affirmed.
(A) reasoned and unyielding, in accordance with the law to fight for the right to read large amount of electronic data.
After the case entered the examination and prosecution stage, in addition to nearly 1,000 paper files, the case also has nearly 1T of massive electronic data. Procuratorial authorities began to electronic data related to confidentiality, can only access, can not be copied and other reasons, refused to lawyers copy, copy electronic data. To this end, Liu Lijie, Qian Hao lawyers have traveled to the procuratorial organs for electronic data copy, copy right: on the one hand, the defense lawyers strictly indicate that the electronic data involved in the case involves network gambling platform structure, casino agent level determination, the number of participants, the amount of money involved in the case of conviction and sentence, belong to the “Criminal Procedure Law” stipulates that the defense lawyers can access, excerpts, copy of the case file material; on the other hand On the other hand, the defense lawyers expressed their full understanding of the caution and concern of the case-handling authorities, and took the initiative to propose that they were willing to communicate with their superiors and sign a confidentiality agreement. After several rounds of communication, Liu Lijie became the first defense lawyer who successfully copied all the electronic data of the case, which not only laid the foundation for the subsequent effective defense, but also created favorable conditions for other lawyers in the same case to fully read the case file.
Second, the big picture, start in detail, litigation visualization to help the case officer clarify the status of the role of the parties
Through sorting out all the files and electronic data of the case, as well as meeting with the defendant for many times, the defense lawyers clarified the core facts and main issues involved in the case, and formed a structure chart of the relevant relationship, and put forward a five-point defense opinion on the basis of this:
First, the evidence in the case proving the defendant's intentional participation in the crime of opening a casino is relatively weak, the defendant and the company under his control were more involved in providing information technology services for the casino in Macau, and the defendant's behavior was more in line with the elements of the crime of assisting in criminal activities on the information network.
Secondly, although the Defendant is the legal representative and shareholder of the company, his position and role in the entire criminal group is only equivalent to that of an ordinary project leader, and he should not be sentenced in comparison with other legal representatives and shareholders of the company who play an independent and key role in the criminal group.
Thirdly, the defendant should not be recognized as a member of the cross-border gambling criminal group, as he only provided neutral technical services, and there is an essential difference between the establishment of the company's operation and the degree of connection with the cross-border gambling group and other companies involved in the case.
Fourthly, the Defendant has conducted a compliance review that is in line with the Defendant's level of knowledge and ability when providing the relevant technical services.
Fifth, the software developed by the Defendant, and the final software involved in the same question, has not been able to confirm through technical appraisal and other means, and does not exclude the possibility that the gambling website involved in the case did not use the software developed by the Defendant.
Third, to fight to promote talk, inch by inch, the sentencing recommendation based on the reduction of the term of imprisonment
Combined with the above defense opinions, after many rounds of communication with lawyers, under the premise of fully considering the special impact and background of this case, the client voluntarily signed a plea bargain at the stage of examination and prosecution, and obtained a sentencing recommendation in line with his expectations. Even so, the defense did not give up the space to finally seek sentencing concessions for the defendant at the trial stage.
From August 10 to 12, 2022, the epidemic had not yet ended, the trial court chose a very humane “remote + on-site” trial, in order to achieve the best defense effect, Liu Lijie team of lawyers to participate in the trial on-site, and in respect for the defendant's willingness to plead guilty and accept punishment on the basis of focusing on the identification of electronic data, the establishment of the crime of helping a letter, and the defendant's sentencing recommendation. On the basis of respecting the defendant's willingness to plead guilty and accept punishment, Liu Lijie focused on the identification of electronic data, whether to establish the crime of helping the letter, the defendant's status and role, and the application of the property penalty.
The scene of the trial Photo source: WeChat public number “Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court”.
In the end, through the effective defense of the defense lawyers at the trial stage, the People's Court adopted the defense opinions that the defendant was not a member of the cross-border online gambling group, and sentenced the defendant to a lighter penalty than the sentencing recommendation of the procuratorial authorities. At present, the defendant has returned to the society and family, and re-established his business, utilizing his skills and talents to contribute to the country and society.
Following Liu Lijie's participation in the “large-scale cross-border telecom fraud case”, which was included in the work report of the Supreme People's Court, and the “nation's first securities crime compliance case”, which was selected as a typical case by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the casino case represented by Liu Lijie's team was again selected as a typical case by the Supreme People's Court. Selected as a typical case of the supreme people's court once again demonstrated the pursuit of excellence, the pursuit of excellence in the practice of lawyers in King&Capital, Liu Lijie team of lawyers will take this opportunity to continue to explore the “major cases” defense mechanism, plowing the classic cases of criminal defense, and strive to practice King&Capital lawyers, “case by case, to promote the rule of law. “Practice philosophy, to promote social justice.
