Macau Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak says law enforcement in the special administrative region (SAR) hopes for “strengthening cooperation” with Mainland China security forces to help crack down on “illicit money-exchange gangs.”
The SAR wants greater “exchanges of intelligence” to get at “the roots” of the illegal activity, Wong said. As reported by GGRAsia, the remarks followed a September 14 meeting between Macau officials and delegates from China’s Ministry of Public Security.
Wong told Chinese Vice Minister of Public Security Chen Siyuan that local law enforcement would welcome the help of mainland forces as it combats internet and telecommunications scams, as well as illegal money-changers who frequent casinos in the Chinese gaming hub.
Mainland China limits the amount of Chinese currency that citizens can carry into Macau. The money-changers enable those citizens to swap Chinese yuan for Hong Kong dollars, the chief tender for gambling in Macau’s many casinos.
Such trading has been linked to crimes including “murders, money laundering, scams, robberies and thefts,” Wong said. Chen responded that mainland authorities will support Macau police “as always” in helping to curb criminal activities.
The Macau government is currently considering adding unauthorized money-changing to its list of criminal offenses. From January through June, 8,124 people were identified as having taken part in illegal money-exchange businesses.
The activity has “long been affecting security conditions inside casinos and the areas surrounding them,” Wong said, and leads to other crimes such as those mentioned above.
Currently, the activity falls under the city’s financial regulatory framework and is not a crime. Wong said the city’s Judiciary Police “hope that illicit money-exchanges… related to… gambling purposes” will be criminalized.
