TWO Chinese nationals who were arrested in 2019 in Marabella for allegedly running illegal PlayWhe bets and also had roulette and other gaming machines without a club license, were granted a total of $750,000 in bail by a Master of the Court on Thursday.

Xiao Bo Zhang and Bo Zhang, both 36, were first denied bail in August 2019, and again last December, when they appeared before separate magistrates on charges of money laundering; keeping premises for the purpose connected to the conduct of a lottery and keeping premises for the purpose of the use of a common gaming house under the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Gambling and Betting Act.

When they were held, police allegedly found a quantity of local, UK, US, Canadian and Chinese currency.

In December, magistrate Rajendra Rambachan refused bail on the basis that the two accused had no immigration status in TT and the time for which they were permitted to enter and remain had since expired.

In the application before Master Gillian Scotland in the San Fernando High Court, attorneys Navindra Ramnanan and Henry Chase argued the immigration status of both men were irrelevant to the issue of bail, pointing out also that Xiao Bo Zhang had applied for permanent residence since 2010.

Xiao Bo Zhang is also married to a Trinidadian.

They submitted the charges were not egregious in nature despite the money laundering charge carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years and the alleged sums of money found were insignificant when compared to the billions involved in the drug, illegal firearm and international trafficking of persons.

The attorneys also submitted that neither man could be considered a threat to public safety nor did they have a criminal record.

They also argued the men have been languishing in prison for some two and a half years in pre-trial custody and were of the opinion bail was being refused as an instrument of oppression.

In granting bail, Scotland ordered that they remain at the location provided to the court for the duration of their matter, report to the San Fernando police station every Wednesday and Saturday and surrender their passport to the Magistracy Registrar.

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