Hong Kong politician Maria Tam steps down from Macau Legend board

Veteran Hong Kong politician Maria Tam Wai Chu has stepped down from the board of Macau Legend Development Ltd.

According to information filed by the company on Friday, the 76-year-old tendered her resignation as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect due to “personal reasons.”

Macau Legend said it will look to appoint a suitable replacement within three months in order to fulfil Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing rules.

Tam has long been one of Macau Legend’s closest connections with Beijing, having served as a member of the Committee for the Basic Law of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee since 1997. She has chaired Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption since 2015, which is also closely tied to the mainland.

Her departure from Macau Legend, some eight-and-a-half-years after first joining the Board, comes just days after the company’s Co-Chairman and CEO Levo Chan stepped down following his arrest by Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ) a week earlier.

Chan has been charged with criminal organization, illegal gambling including online gambling and “betting under the table” (known as “賭枱底” in Chinese), and money laundering in relation to his role as CEO of leading Macau junket Tak Chun Group.

PJ representatives stated at a press conference on 30 January that the case was directly linked to that which led to the arrest and detainment without bail in late November of Suncity CEO Alvin Chau. They also claimed they had obtained sufficient information to show that Suncity and Tak Chun had worked together.

Chan acquired a personal 33.2% stake in Macau Legend – owner of the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf Precinct – in 2020 and was appointed Chairman and CEO shortly afterwards.