A joint operation by the police authorities in Jiangxi, Guangdong provinces and Macau has netted 252 unlicensed currency traders, with as much as RMB3 billion (MOP3.36 billion/US$420 million) said to have been involved in the shadow scheme.
During the so-called ‘ant-clearing’ operation, Macau handed 57 suspects over to the Chinese mainland. The security authorities said that they had identified 19 syndicates running in Nanchang, the largest city in Jiangxi; Zhuhai in Guangdong and Macau, with a combined membership of 300.
The suspects were said to have made use of their network of relatives and underground banking in the organised scheme.
They were also found to have been present at the casinos and hotels in Macau plying their trade.
The security authorities said that they had mobilised a 1,200-strong force for their operation – the latest in a resurfacing crackdown on unauthorised channels employed to skirt capital controls.
Despite the ongoing attempt to curb such underground currency trading, Citigroup analysts pointed out in their recent report that Macau had still managed to attract high-stake gamblers.
Early this month, legislators and government officials approved of an additional provision to the illicit gaming legislation currently under discussion, making casino-based money touting a crime punishable with a prison term of up to five years.
