Zahid, Seen Here during a 2012 Scandal, Sent the Controversial Letter to the FBI on December 18
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the Malaysian politician who claimed alleged illegal bookmaker Paul Phua was doing work for his country’s national security, remains under fire in his home country. This week, Mr. Zahid had to appear before the Malaysian Parliament and take a religious oath that he did not know Phua and had never taken money from the man.
Las Vegas Court Case
Paul Phua is the Malaysian citizen and notable poker professional who was arrested in Las Vegas in July 2014 on charges he organized an illegal sports betting ring based around the Brazilian World Cup. Phua and 7 other men were arrested at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip after the FBI and Nevada Gaming Control Board agents raided 3 suites at the casino’s hotel.
Since that time, the other 7 men arrested pleaded guilty to crimes. Six of them, including one accused of lesser charges, were deported from the United States months ago. The seventh man, Paul’s 23-year old son, Darren Phua, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Phua, who is considered the ringleader of the operation, still plans on fighting the charges in court.
Zahid’s Letter to the FBI
Back on December 18, 2014, Malaysia’s home minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, sent a letter to Deputy FBI Director Mark Giuliano saying Paul Phua would be welcomed back to their home country with open arms. He claimed that Mr. Phua had no connections to the 14K Triad (which had been reported) and had done work on behalf of Malaysian national security in the past.
After those assertions, Mr. Zahid came under serious questioning by Malaysian politicians and publications. Mat Zain Ibrahim, the one-time chief of the Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department and a prominent police chief who worked under Mr. Zahid’s supervision, contradicted his boss’s assertions about the 14K Triad, then announced Malaysian police had arrested Phua on similar charges in 2004. Since then, Phua had traveled to Vietnam to set up illegal gambling rings (according to media reports).
Pattern of Illegal Behavior
In June 2014, Phua was arrested alongside 17 other men in an illegal World Cup gambling ring in Hong Kong said to have handled upward of $1 billion in bets. Phua and a roughly two-thirds of those men were deported to Malaysia, while the remaining men remained in Hong Kong for sentencing as Chinese citizens. The arrests in Hong Kong were only weeks before the arrests in Las Vegas.
Though he has not been convicted in the United States, those various incidents would indicate a pattern of organizing illegal sports betting rings. Since Paul Phua is said to be a high stakes gambler who is worth $400 million from an online sports betting website, his seeming need to risk incarceration might indicate a motivation besides pure profit, such as compulsion by possible criminal contacts to continue making big money. Early reports suggested that Paul Phua was seeking to make one big score, then retire from the business.
Says Lawyers Convinced Him to Write
During questioning before the Malaysian Parliament, Mr. Zahid claimed he was asked to file the letter by Phua’s Malaysian lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, and his two U.S. attorneys, David Chesnoff in Las Vegas and Thomas Goldstein in the Washington area.
Mr. Shafee is said to be the “official lawyer of the Barisan Party”. The Barisan Nasional Coalition is the leading political party in Malaysia, having held power in the country (mainly through the United Malays National Organisation or UMNO). Thus, Shafee Abdullah is closely tied to the administration of Malaysia itself.
FBI Evidence Thrown Out of Court
While Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is scrambling for his political career, Paul Phua’s court case might be going well for the defense. U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon made a ruling against the prosecution’s case, when he recommended much of the FBI’s evidence in the case be thrown out due to 4th Amendment violations. Judge Peggy Leen subsequently has done just that.
In fact, the defense team seems to have done a solid job for Phua and his colleagues. Most of the men involved were deported and did not face prison time, while the government’s case has been deprived of its best evidence. The 4th Amendment violations came due to FBI’s tactic of pretending to be Geek Squad-type computer technicians to gain access to Paul Phua’s hotel suites.
Paul Phua’s ability to pay for top lawyers was never in question. He told a U.S. judge he is worth $300 million to $400 million. Phua is known to be a high roller poker player in ring games in Las Vegas, and several prominent poker players bailed him out of jail when he was arrested.
