Illegal UnionPay transactions total MOP2.1 billion this year

Illegal transactions using UnionPay International terminals in the territory have reached a total amount of close to MOP2.1 billion for the first semester of this year, the Portuguese news agency Lusa reported, citing official data provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ).
This sum is almost double the total amount calculated for the full year of 2015 (MOP1.2 billion) and is the result of 12 probes by the police force that were sent to the Public Prosecutions Office regarding illegal money withdrawal using cards from mainland China’s bank UnionPay.
These operations are considered illegal as they are  made in the territory through “Point of Sale” (POS) machines of China’s Union Pay or others provided by third parties, resulting in a situation that in practical terms results in a non-payment of the due commissions to Union Pay International. Union Pay International does not receive the percentage that it is entitled to by contract from all transactions made outside of China.
According to the available data, the total amount of losses accumulated for UnionPay International between January and June this year is of MOP5.6 million, which represents an increase of 143 percent when compared to the total amount of last year (MOP2.3 million).
According to additional information provided by the PJ to Lusa, most cases reported have occurred either inside the gaming resorts or at the stores surrounding the casinos, and have resulted in the arrest of a total of 31 people, the majority (22) being from mainland China.