Graft buster busts two immigration scams by investment

The Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has performed follow-up reviews, including file assessments and on-site inspections, on over 3,000 residency cases under its investment program, leading to the discovery of two scams by the city’s graft buster.

Yesterday, the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) released its 2024 anti-corruption report, highlighting the discovery of two cases of fraudulent investment residency during the year.

In one case, three applicants and their eligible family members, totaling 15 individuals, obtained residence permits and Macau permanent resident ID cards by purchasing two properties owned by one of their relatives.

“The relatives of the applicants received the funds for the property purchases and then sent the money back to the applicants. Meanwhile, the properties continued to be occupied by their original owners. After the applicants and their families obtained permanent resident status, the three applicants deceitfully returned the properties to the original owners,” the CCAC stated.

The case also included individuals who falsely claimed to have a high school education to satisfy the educational requirements for the real estate investment immigration application. Furthermore, one applicant from the family group is suspected of submitting fraudulent parent-child documents.

According to the report, another case involves a businessman who allegedly used the name of a group company he controlled to enable relatives and the relatives of employees to make fraudulent equity investments. This scheme allowed them to apply for and successfully receive a major investment residency permit from IPIM.

The CCAC uncovered the fraud during the renewal application process, revealing that the businessman employed similar tactics. He pretended to increase his shareholding in his group companies while colluding with a businessman from another company, using the fabricated share increase as evidence to support the applicant’s request for an extension of the major investment residency permit from the former Ministry of Commerce.

The CCAC also revealed the fraud during the renewal application process, noting that the businessman falsely claimed to have increased his ownership in his group companies and collaborated with another businessman. This fabricated increase in shareholding was used as evidence to assist the applicant in requesting an extension of their major investment residency permit from IPIM.

In response, the Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance issued a statement emphasizing that Secretary Anton Tai takes the matter seriously and has directed relevant entities to take immediate follow-up actions.

On top of false investment residency cases, the statement noted that IPIM has begun a review process for over 3,000 approved cases and more than 100 major investment residency applications, with files suspected of irregularities having been referred to judicial authorities for further investigation.

“The Secretary for Economy and Finance has urged IPIM to reassess the approval process for renewing temporary residence permits and to enhance the post-approval supervision mechanism, ensuring that these permits comply with legal requirements,” the office stated.