Beijing draws line in sand on casino crimes

Authorities in Beijing have warned about a surge in casino-related crimes in the wake of the arrest in Macau of Suncity chairman Alvin Chau Cheok-wa.

In line with that, the Supreme People's Procuratorate - China's highest prosecution office - said authorities have taken 63,238 people to court in over 25,000 cases of illegal casinos in the first nine months of this year.

Compared to average figures from 2018 to 2020 the number of people charged has increased by 45 percent while the number of cases is up 49 percent.

It was also pointed out that criminals have tried to disguise online card games and some apps as entertainment to hide illegal gambling and to draw people into rackets.

Overseas elements were said to be involved in many instances, with criminals recruiting locals as proxies to enable mainlanders to place bets online.

Of the 13,329 people prosecuted for cross-border crimes in that period, 1,379 were involved in operating illegal cross-border gambling operations, including in Hong Kong and Macau.

Such crimes also accelerated capital outflows, the procuratorate said, and illegal gambling often involves money laundering, fraud and blackmail.

The warning came as Chau was remanded in Coloane Prison after lengthy interrogation.

Chau, 47, was among 11 people arrested on Saturday for illicit gambling, money laundering and criminal syndicate activities, and all were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office on Sunday.

It is understood that after more than 14 hours of interrogation a judge accepted a prosecution recommendation and sent Chau to Coloane Prison at around 6am yesterday.

The Wenzhou Municipal People's Procuratorate had on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Chau and urged him to surrender immediately as that could make it possible for him to seek leniency.

Macau's secretary for security, Wong Sio-chak, told the Legislative Assembly yesterday that measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism are set to begin.

Authorities are said to be focusing on money-laundering activities.

Macau will also step up cooperation with police in nearby districts and collaborate in investigating illegal fund transfers.

That will naturally charting suspicious transactions involving the gaming and financial sectors.

Wong also said police will stay fully tuned to gaming-related crimes, which will include surprise inspections being conducted at gambling venues.

Officers are also to increase their efforts to track and identify fake gambling operations based online and to zero in websites believed to be involved in fraudulent activities.