Mainland suspects held in RMB7.3 million fraud, currency dispute

[Photo: Nadia Shaw]

The Judiciary Police arrested two men from mainland China on Monday in separate fraud cases, including one involving a RMB7.3 million high-investment scam and the other involving a currency exchange dispute.

During a special press conference yesterday, the PJ detailed fraud charges against a 37-year-old man from the mainland who is suspected of defrauding two victims – a Macau resident and a mainland Chinese national – of a combined RMB7.3 million.

The scam involved a high-interest investment scheme promising returns from mainland real estate and Macau hotel room projects.

According to the PJ, the scheme promised monthly profits of 2% from mainland real estate and Macau hotel room projects, which police said were promoted as “lucrative.”

One victim transferred MOP4.15 million after believing the claims but received only about MOP550,000 in returns before losing contact with the suspect, surnamed Hong.

Police said Hong paid the MOP550,000 as an incentive to build trust, but investigations suggest he lost the defrauded funds gambling in casinos across Macau. The PJ said it will further investigate whether there are additional victims.

The case has since been sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In a second case, another mainland Chinese man, posing as a businessman, was arrested on the evening of February 28, 2026, at the Border Gate.

The incident stemmed from a money exchange last year, in which the suspect exchanged RMB334,800 for HKD360,000 in cash with an individual who had won the Hong Kong dollars gambling and wanted RMB to transfer home.

After the exchange, the victim’s relatives and friends suspected that the RMB was “problematic” and advised him to return it.

Following this, the suspect promised to return the HKD cash but repeatedly delayed despite inquiries, prompting the victim to report the case to police in November 2025.

The investigation confirmed that the suspect received a refund in RMB but failed to return the victim’s Hong Kong dollars.

The PJ intercepted the suspect as he re-entered Macau through the Border Gate. During the arrest, four mobile phones were found on him.

So far, there is no evidence that the suspect had ever conducted illegal exchanges in Macau.