A Macau jewellery shop located inside a Cotai casino hotel is under police investigation for allegedly conducting illegal money exchange involving HK$190 million ($24.3 million).
Judiciary Police launched an operation on Tuesday morning, arresting two local employees and escorting two mainland gamblers as witnesses. Investigators believe the shop has been providing illicit money-changing services to gamblers since July, generating unlawful proceeds estimated at HK$5.8 million ($742,000). Police are currently searching for the shop owner.
The arrested employees, aged 30 and 29, were salesmen receiving fixed monthly salaries. Police said they assisted gamblers in exchanging money before the gamblers proceeded directly to the casino floor. The two mainland witnesses, both middle-aged, had visited the shop shortly before the raid.
Authorities began investigating after receiving intelligence in mid-November alleging that the jewellery shop at a Cotai integrated resort was operating an underground exchange service. Surveillance confirmed that gamblers were converting funds at the shop before entering the casino. At around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, officers moved in, detaining the two employees and intercepting the two gamblers both inside the store and in the casino’s gaming area.
According to police, the gamblers exchanged RMB1,000 for HK$1,000 ($128) or RMB19,000 for HK$20,000 ($2,560) via QR-code transfers arranged by the shop. Investigators believe the outlet, which opened last August, may have started providing illegal exchanges as early as July this year or earlier.
During the operation, officers seized HK$840,950 ($107,600) and RMB9,600 ($1,300) in suspected exchange funds, along with two mobile phones and a cash-counting machine. Additional phones were also confiscated from the two arrested employees.
Since October 2024, Macau has criminalised money exchange for gambling purposes, with offenders facing imprisonment of up to five years.
