Fake casino chips nearly double in 2017

Twenty-one extra cases involving counterfeit money were registered in 2017, compared to the 278 cases in 2016, according to statistics released by the Office of the Secretary for Security.

The 299 cases of counterfeit money involved a total of 2,869 counterfeit banknotes, coins and casino chips, worth a total of MOP12.63 million.

In 2017, 22 counterfeit Macau pataca banknotes were seized, which included four MOP1,000 notes, 12 MOP500 notes, five MOP100 notes, one MOP50 note, and also one MOP5 coin.

In 2016, 17 counterfeit Macau pataca notes, amounting to a total of MOP9,510, were seized.

In 2017, 2,304 counterfeit Hong Kong currency notes were seized, including 2,233 HKD1,000 notes, 44 HKD500 notes and 25 HKD100 notes, worth a total of HKD2.25 million.

In 2016, only 337 counterfeit Hong Kong currency notes, worth a total of HKD274,820, were seized.

In addition, in 2017, 158 counterfeit US currency notes were also apprehended, with the notes’ value amounting to MOP15,800.

In 2016, 24 counterfeit US dollar notes, amounting to MOP2,400, were seized.

The office said that, most noticeably, 245 counterfeit casino chips were seized in 2017, including 16 chips each worth MOP500,000, two chips each worth MOP100,000, 149 chips each worth MOP10,000, 23 chips of HKD5,000 and 55 chips of HKD1,000, amounting to a total of MOP9.86 million.

In 2016, the number of counterfeit casino chips was only 106, with those chips being worth MOP6.65 million.  JZ