Secretary for Transportation and Public Works Man Long Ao of China

Ao was earlier in the year convicted by the Macau Court of Final Appeal on offences of corruption and money laundering and was sentenced to 27 years of imprisonment and fine together with a confiscation/restitution order made against all his assets totalling at least HK$245,472,702.

Ao has denied that he set up shell companies and bank accounts abroad in which he reportedly hid the ill gotten gains.

Ao was the highest level official ever sentenced for graft and his trial came as the former Portuguese territory tries to shrug off a reputation for organized crime and reinvent itself as holiday destination in the image of Las Vegas.

Ao was accused of handing some of those construction contracts to firms in return for kickbacks.

Ao was accused of amassing a personal fortune of more than 800 million patacas (around 100 million US.

Ao was a witness in his familys trial and rejected claims that his relatives and wife had knowledge of what the former secretary was doing.

The court also heard that Ao had only had access to Ecoline in 2006 after the manager Lee Se Chong died.

Ao is being held in a Macau prison.

Obviously, Secretary Ao has abused his power for personal gains," Ho said.

A South China Morning Post story today (behind a pay wall) said prosecutors charged that “Ao had taken a cut of between 3 percent and 10 percent on 41 projects, including almost every big public works contract in the city in the past five years.

Since Ao was living beyond his means – and prosecutors said he earned 57 times his salary in kickbacks over seven years – it’s likely that Ho would have asked questions about why he was fast-tracking certain projects or selling plots of public land to certain mutual friends.

Ao was arrested in December, 2006, and was charged with 76 counts of crimes.

Ao was sentenced to 27 years in prison with a fine of 240,000 patacas.

Ao was found to have taken bribes from businesspeople for development contracts that were up for bidding.

Ao was responsible for approving land sales for heated development in recent years.

Due to his seniority, Ao was tried by a three-judge panel at the Court of Final Appeal.

Ao is accused of handing some of those construction contracts to companies in return for kickbacks.

Ao has said the accounts were set up for proper business transactions.

Due to his seniority, Ao was tried by a three-judge panel at Macau's highest court - the Court of Final Appeal.

Ao is the highest official to go on trial in Macau.

The Macau government said in a statement that Ao had taken bribes and engaged in illegal financial activities.

Ao is one of the most senior officials arrested since the Portuguese enclave returned to Chinese rule in 1999.

The rare detention was announced by Macau's leader, Edmund Ho, who told reporters there was "irrefutable evidence" that Ao was involved in corruption.

Obviously, Secretary Ao has abused his power for personal gains," Ho said, without elaborating.

Ao was convicted on 40 counts of bribe taking and 13 counts of money laundering for pocketing tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks during his seven years in the appointed position.

Judge Sam Hou Fai said Ao had turned his job into a "moneymaking machine" and that his "greed" and "shocking behavior" had smeared the image of Macau and its government.

Ao is the highest level official ever convicted of graft, and his case came as the former Portuguese territory was trying shrug off a reputation for organized crime and reinvent itself as vacation destination in the image of Las Vegas.

Ao is accused of taking kickbacks in return for some of those construction contracts.

13 million seized, and some of his properties confiscated, and said investigators were seeking cooperation from the Virgin Islands where Ao had set up shell companies to launder his ill-gotten gains.

Ao was tried in the territory's highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, because of his seniority.

Ao was arrested in December 2006 by the Macau Commission Against Corruption, who are prosecuting the high-profile case, which has put the spotlight on the casino city.

Judge Sam Hou Fai said Ao had turned his job into a moneymaking machine and that his shocking behavior had smeared Macau's image.

At the time of his arrest in December 2006, Ao had amassed a personal fortune of $99 million, much of it stashed in bank accounts in London, Hong Kong and Macau, and a string of luxury homes.

Macao is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal.