There were 3,041 reports of suspicious transactions made by Macao’s casino operators between January and September of this year, according to official data cited by industry website GGR Asia.
The number represents an increase of just over 30 percent from the 2,335 such transactions reported by casinos in the first nine months of 2023.
Meanwhile, there were 843 suspicious transactions reported by financial and insurance companies (a 36.6 percent increase) and 234 such reports made by other institutions (a 3.5 percent rise).
[See more: Crime is up but the number of serious crimes is comparatively low]
The overall number of suspicious transaction reports spiked by 29.6 percent year-on-year, which officials said was “mainly due to the increase in the number of [such reports made] by the financial sector and the gaming sector.”
The data comes as Macao pushes ahead with the criminalisation of illegal currency exchanges.
According to media reports, legislators will vote new rules into law this week penalising such practices with jail terms of up to five years.
