Phuas Saga Continues: ICE Finally Releases Father-Son Duo

The story of wealthy businessman and high-stakes player Paul Phua and his alleged involvement in organizing illegal betting for recently ended football World Cup continues to develop. After eight people were arrested and had charges brought against them, the court decided on Monday, July 14th, that Paul Phua and his son Darren could be released pending bail in the total amount of $2.5 million.

This prompted couple of high profile players from Vegas, Phua’s close acquaintances and friends, to put their funds together and help the release process of the two. Phil Ivey and Andrew Robl posted the necessary amount last week, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal and were expecting to see their friends out and about very soon.

This did not happen, however, as both Phuas are Malaysian citizens and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement got involved, taking custody of father-son duo after the bail had been posted. The ICE has taken prisoners to detain them for possible deportation.

Phuas’ attorney David Chesnoff stated that he was outraged by the fact that the executive branch of government wouldn’t honor an order coming from judicial branch. To remind you, during the initial hearing, elder Phua was said to be connected to 14k Triad, powerful Hong Kong based criminal organization. Phua and his lawyer vigorously disputed this claim and were able to get the judge to allow Phuas to be released on bail.

After Chesnoff’s numerous interventions and pleas, Paul and Darren Phua were finally released from the ICE custody on Tuesday, June 29th, under the conditions set previously by U.S. Magistrate Bill Hoffman. Apart from the $2.5 million bail ($2,000,000 for Paul Phua alone), Phua’s private jet was also held as collateral and they both have to wear electronic devices tracking their whereabouts.

In other news regarding this case, Las Vegas Review-Journal has also reported that Ivey was looking to post a $500,000 cash bond for another defendant, Wai Kin Yong, son of another well known name in high stakes circles – (Seng Chen) Richard Yong. As for elder Yong, he is apparently looking to post the bail using his own money, as he reportedly has at least $2 million sitting in Caesars Palace safe.

Tom ‘Durrrrr’ Dwan is also playing a role in the development of the entire case, as he was with Paul Phua at the time of the arrest and signed a sworn affidavit questioning agents’ tactics. He was present during the initial hearing and had private discussions with defense layers during that time.

The whole story is getting more and more complicated, as more names are becoming its part in one way or another. It remains to be discovered if district attorney’s claims that numerous high profile players were also cooperating with Phua during his illegal activities, as it was only hinted without giving any new names. We will be tracking the progress of the story and keep you up to date as new relevant information come to light.