In first-quarter remarks about criminal trends in Macau, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said illegal money exchanges that operate in or around local casinos have become more “corporatized and professional” and are also expanding into usurious lending, or loan sharking.
Wong said the activities, along with “disturbing” the security of Macau casinos, are often associated with more serious crimes, such as fraud.
According to GGRAsia, from January through March, Macau police tied 149 fraud cases to unauthorized money changers. They dupe their customers by using counterfeit bank notes or promising money that they don’t deliver. During the same period last year, 112 fraud cases were reported; in 2019, the number was just 107.
Through March, Macau police intercepted almost 1,300 such money changers, and banned 1,227. The increase in such crimes has been linked to the reopening of the return of incoming travel since Macau reopened the city’s borders in January 2023.
