{"id":777024621,"date":"2025-03-28T10:20:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T13:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777024621"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:24:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T03:24:05","slug":"42-arrested-for-illegal-money-exchange-in-macau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/42-arrested-for-illegal-money-exchange-in-macau","title":{"rendered":"42 arrested for illegal money exchange in Macau"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The arrests were made on the premises of jewelry shops and pawnshops near casinos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Macau.- The Judiciary Police<\/strong> has arrested 42 people<\/strong> in two separate operations against unauthorised currency exchange linked to gambling. In the first case, police arrested 33 people accused of offering currency exchange via fake transactions at eight jewellery shops near casinos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police said those arrested exchanged about HK$590m (US$75.9m) and made over HK$20m (US$2.6m) in illegal profits. In a second operation, police arrested nine people for allegedly exchanging money in pawn shops and private cars. They are said to have falsely employed non-resident workers to assist in the transfer of funds between Macau and mainland China. This group allegedly exchanged around HK$200m (US$25.7m) and earned at least HK$1m (US$128,600).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both syndicates allegedly worked with underground banks. Police seized over HK$18m (US$2.3m)<\/strong> in cash, fake transaction receipts and electronic devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new bill on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes<\/a> came into effect last October. The legislation criminalises unauthorised currency exchange when carried out for gambling purposes regardless of whether it occurs inside or outside casinos. Any gambling-related foreign exchange activity considered part of a business operation could fall under its provisions. Police need to obtain evidence, such as testimony from the unlicensed currency trader or the client, to prove that a transaction is for gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n
\n

See also:<\/span> 7 arrested over counterfeit chips at Macau casino<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The arrests were made on the premises of jewelry shops and pawnshops near casinos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":16732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Macau's Judiciary Police have arrested 42 individuals in two distinct operations targeting unauthorized currency exchange linked to gambling, seizing over HK$18m in cash and illicit profits exceeding HK$21m. These operations, which involved fake transactions at jewelry and pawn shops, highlight the enforcement of the new Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes bill, criminalizing such activities regardless of location.","focusai_entities":"Judiciary Police","focusai_location":"Macau, mainland China","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.95), operator_casino (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.95), investor_analyst (0.85), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Operator Due Diligence Impact?","query":"What are the broader implications for licensed casino operators in Macau regarding enhanced due diligence requirements for high-value patrons and the monitoring of peripheral illicit financial activities?"},{"label":"Enforcement Strategy Evolution?","query":"How will the Judiciary Police's enforcement strategy evolve under the new Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes bill, particularly concerning cross-border illicit fund transfers and the targeting of underground banking networks?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16338,439],"tags":[23906],"class_list":["post-777024621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-asia-news","category-legal-news","tag-macau-casinos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777024621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777024621"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777024621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777024638,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777024621\/revisions\/777024638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777024621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777024621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777024621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}