Crime Dead chips scheme leads to HKD18 million in losses

A 61-year-old “dead chips” broker from the mainland has reported losses of HKD18.25 million from a scheme in Macau organized with a friend from the mainland, the Judiciary Police (PJ) informed.

According to the report from the victim back in November 2013, the broker and his friend had run a dead chips brokerage business in Macau since 2010.

Since the broker could not come to Macau too often, he had asked his friend to receive the clients coming from China. He also told the PJ that he also requested the friend, now a suspect in the case, to use his name to open an account in a VIP room of a local casino in order for it to be used for the business purposes.

On November 4, 2013, the victim asked the suspect to withdraw a total of HKD18.25 million from the account and deposit it into a different account. However, after withdrawing it successfully, the suspect allegedly fled with the money. On September 26 this year, the suspect was intercepted and detained by the police authorities while trying to reenter Macau.

Questioned by the PJ, the 40-year-old man denied all the accusations but the PJ’s investigation, which included interviews with staff members of the VIP room and review of the statements from the accounts, appeared to back the allegations made by the victim.

The suspect is now being accused of the crime of “breach of trust” and the case has been forwarded to the Public Prosecutions Office.

Dead chips are casino chips that have been taken out of circulation by the operating entity and so they cannot be exchanged directly for cash. Even so, they can be used for placing new bets and in this way return to their issuer.

There are schemes at some casinos that pay out commission to people who find and return these chips. Both junkets and individuals are involved in the dead chip brokerage business in Macau.