China’s Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday that two recent mainland-Macau joint operations against unauthorised currency exchange in or near to Macau casinos led to 252 suspects being detained. They were allegedly touts suspected of involvement in an illicit trade the ministry estimated was worth “CNY3 billion” (US$420.6 million).
A ministry press release stated the effort with the Macau authorities had identified “19 syndicates” suspected of such trading that collectively had been been active in Nanchang city in Jiangxi province, southeast China; in Zhuhai city in Guangdong province next door Macau; and in Macau itself. The mainland authorities estimated 300 individuals were involved in the 19 suspected syndicates.
The Ministry of Public Security stated in its Chinese-language announcement: “These criminal suspects are related to each other as kinsmen, friends, or are from the same hometown.”
It alleged: “They have been working as criminal groups and taking remote orders from their leaders to withdraw cash from banks, connect with underground banks and recruit patrons for currency trading in Macau casinos or around its hotels.”
The ministry also asserted: “These individuals have been engaged in illicit currency exchange trade in Macau for a long time,” involving “huge sums,” and “posed a serious disruption to Macau’s security.”
The statement mentioned “scams”, “robberies” and “illegal immigration” as crimes often associated with the unauthorised money exchange trade operated in Macau. It added that the number of such traders had been rising in recent years.
The ministry said the two recent enforcement operations had been held jointly by police from Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Macau. Of the 252 people detained, 57 were people the Macau police had identified as being from the mainland and were handed over to to the authorities there.
The two recent joint operations with the Macau police were referred as “ant eradication”, according to the Chinese-language term coined by the ministry and mentioned in the Tuesday release.
The ministry said the mainland’s security authorities units would continue their efforts to clamp down on unauthorised money exchange trading.
The Macau government has proposed criminalising such money trading in the gaming and non-gaming areas of any casino venue within the city, via an amendment to a draft bill called the “Law to Combat Gambling Crimes”. The matter is to be discussed further in the city’s Legislative Assembly.
