Two women arrested in MOP26 million investment fraud cases

[Photo: Yuki Lei]

The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested two women – a non-resident worker and a local resident –on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in separate investment scams that defrauded two middle-aged Macau residents of a combined MOP26 million, with one case tied to an online romantic relationship.

The arrests followed complaints from the victims, who reported falling prey to fraudulent investment schemes, including one that began as an online dating interaction. Both suspects are now facing charges of large-scale fraud and money laundering and have been referred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for further action.

Police briefed the media yesterday on the cases, revealing that one victim met a man claiming to be a soldier stationed at the Macao Garrison through a messaging app in early February.

The pair quickly developed an online romantic relationship, during which the man encouraged the victim to invest in a so-called charity platform that he claimed would yield easy profits. Trusting him, the victim invested MOP710,000 and initially saw her account balance peak at more than MOP2.7 million.

However, when she attempted to withdraw the funds, the platform’s customer service demanded additional payments for “guarantee deposits,” “taxes” and “retention fees.”

Hoping to recover her investment, she paid an additional MOP510,000 but remained unable to withdraw any money. She later realized she had been scammed, suffering a total loss of MOP1.22 million.

In the second case, police said another victim lost MOP1.38 million. Investigators found that funds from both victims had been transferred to bank accounts held by the two suspects, who were unable to provide credible explanations for receiving the money or for how it was used.

Two employees nabbed for illegal currency exchange

At a separate press conference yesterday, police announced the arrest of two local men for operating illegal currency-exchange activities for gamblers under the guise of a jewelry store. Authorities said the store handled more than HKD190 million in illicit transactions, generating an estimated HKD5.8 million in profit since opening last August.

The two suspects – employees who joined the shop in March and July – were arrested on Wednesday, and one mobile phone was seized from each. During the operation, officers also detained another individual found carrying HKD500 in casino chips.

According to police, the investigation is ongoing to identify the store owner and other individuals involved. Officers seized HKD840,950, RMB9,600, two mobile phones and a currency counter from the premises.