PJ arrests six suspects in illegal currency exchanges

Judiciary Police (PJ) have detained four suspects, including three mainland residents and one local resident, for their alleged involvement in an illegal foreign exchange operation targeting casino gamblers.

The investigation began Nov. 13 when police were alerted to suspicious activity at a hotel in Taipa about several individuals suspected of engaging in illegal foreign exchange activities.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers apprehended the four individuals – three men and one woman – who are alleged to have been exchanging large sums of Hong Kong dollars for mainland Chinese RMB.

According to the police, the suspects are all mainland Chinese residents aged between 28 and 37. In the hotel room, the police seized a mobile phone, a total of HKD1.456 million in cash, HKD3,300 in casino chips, and a notebook used to record daily transactions. Through the investigation, the police found that the four suspects had traveled from the mainland to Macau with travel documents to engage in illegal currency exchange activities, primarily targeting gamblers at major casinos in Cotai and those who needed to exchange currency in casino ancillary facilities.

According to the investigation, the group had been operating the illegal exchange service for at least two months, earning an estimated HKD430,000 in illegal profits.

The police have transferred the four suspects to the public prosecutor’s office for operating an illegal foreign exchange group for gambling, in violation of Law No. 2024 on Combating Illegal Gambling Crimes, implemented Oct. 29, 2024.

In a separate case, PJ announced another case of illegal currency exchange for gambling, involving a middle-aged male non-resident witness and two suspects. The investigation, conducted by the police, uncovered a scheme where the suspects were engaged in unauthorized foreign exchange activities within the premises of a large hotel in Cotai.

The first suspect is a 43-year-old mainland resident, while the second suspect is a 46-year-old mainland resident reported to be a receptionist. On Nov. 13, 2024, at around 4 p.m., the officers conducted an investigation at the hotel and discovered the suspects behaving suspiciously.

During the inspection, the officers observed the second suspect handing over casino chips to the first suspect, who then conducted a currency exchange with the witness. The first suspect showed the witness a QR code to receive the payment, and after the transfer, he confirmed the corresponding RMB had been received and handed the HKD50,000 chips to the witness.

The investigation subsequently revealed that the two suspects were engaged in illegal foreign exchange activities in Macau. The first suspect was responsible for finding customers and negotiating the exchange, while the second suspect handled the transactions and profited from the exchange rate differences.

The officers seized various tools used in the illegal activities, including mobile phones and a significant amount of cash and casino chips. Victoria Chan