Thirty people who were charged with allegedly taking part in illegal gambling were in court on Monday in China‘s Yunnan Province, according to the media.
Wang Lijuan, the alleged ringleader, along with 29 others were on trial at the Qilin District People’s Court in Qujing for operating illegal casinos, according to the Qilin District People’s Procuratorate.
A joint venture company, Kunming Tangcheng Entertainment Ltd was created by Wang in 2005. Allegedly, once the company was established, Wang and the co-defendants set up other illegal gaming facilities in three branches of the company, and used fashion shows as a means to hide their illegal activities from 2009 to October 2014, according to the procuratorate. In addition, they aided others in similar ventures.
Xu Jia opened three casinos and was responsible for collecting fees from other casinos for Wang. In total, 16 casinos were operated by Wang and 13 by another co-defendant, Ye Chengfang.
The group’s illegal businesses are estimated to have amassed approximately 43 million yuan, approximately US$7 million.
Accused of being the mastermind, Wang was charged with “operating illegal gambling houses” by the procuratorate.
The court estimates the trial will last four days.