The Macau authorities have intercepted a total of 1,942 unauthorised currency changers in the first five months of 2024, subsequently barring them from entering the city. That is according to information disclosed by Judiciary Police Director, Sit Chong Meng, in a speech on Friday.
In conjunction with these efforts, the local casino regulator, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), has banned 927 individuals from entering casinos due to their suspected involvement in money-changing activities. Mr Sit said they were significant steps taken to curb these illicit operations.
He also mentioned that 30 Macao ID holders caught allegedly participating in unauthorised currency exchange activities had been referred to the Monetary Authority of Macao, the city’s financial regulator, for further proceedings.
Since casino-market recovery from early last year, unauthorised money changers have become more active in Macau, namely at or near casino premises, according to previous information disclosed by the city’s authorities.
Data presented by Mr Sit on Friday revealed that the Judiciary Police investigated a total of 579 gaming-related cases for all forms of antisocial activity in the first five months of this year, marking a substantial year-on-year increase of 75.5 percent.
Among these, gaming-related scam cases surged by 66.7 percent and were “closely related” to currency exchange gangs, he noted. However, he added, “In recent months, illegal activities involving money exchange scammers have been decreasing.”
The total number of suspected crime cases probed by the Judiciary Police from January to May this year reached 5,907, reflecting a year-on-year rise of 28.8 percent. Crimes related to gaming and tourism were among those going up, according to Mr Sit.
“The Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China collaborates extensively with Macau in combating the threat posed by money exchange scammers,” Mr Sit stated. “Public security bodies in various regions of mainland China pursue the entire chain linked to these crimes, thus achieving notable results.”
In Beijing on Friday, China’s Ministry of Public Security held a meeting to address Macao’s illicit money exchange activities. Officials at the meeting underscored the need for stringent enforcement to tackle these illegal activities.
