{"id":184115,"date":"2021-08-27T06:26:47","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T13:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=184115"},"modified":"2021-08-27T12:10:08","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T19:10:08","slug":"hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong Customs Bust Macau-Bound Money Laundering Gang on Sea Bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hong Kong authorities have disrupted a money laundering operation that planned to move bulk cash to Macau casinos through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge<\/a> (HZMB).<\/p>\n

\"HZMB\"
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, seen above, connects Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai. Opened in 2018, it took nine years to build at a cost of $15.1 billion. (Image: Mott Macdonald)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s the first known instance of the bridge being used as a conduit for money laundering. It opened in 2018.<\/p>\n

\n

Customs officials detected the gang\u2019s movements in May and launched an investigation dubbed \u201cOperation Interceptor,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the Hong Kong government. This culminated in the arrest of five men suspected of transporting around HK$170 million (US22 million) into Macau.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Two of the five were arrested last Thursday when agents intercepted their vehicles on the Hong Kong side of the bridge. Officers seized HK$20 million (US$257,000) in cash from the men. Other members of the gang were described as \u201cmoney changers\u201d in the government statement.<\/p>\n

All five have been charged with conspiring to \u201cdeal with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offense,\u201d and for violating the Cross-boundary Movement of Physical Currency.<\/p>\n

Casino’s Risky Business\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 34-mile-long bridge took nine years to build at a cost of $15.1 billion. It is the world\u2019s longest sea bridge. Its aim marvel is to link the economies of Hong Kong, Macau, and the Pearl River Delta region more closely — although not necessarily their black economies.<\/p>\n

Casinos are especially vulnerable to money laundering. because of the highly competitive, cash-intensive nature of the business. But Macau\u2019s reliance on VIP gaming and junket operators places these casinos at ever great risk.<\/p>\n

\n

Despite strict controls on the movement of capital out of mainland China, a 2013 report by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China estimated that the US $202 billion in \u201cill-gotten funds\u201d was being channeled through Macau every year.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Around this time, Beijing and the Macau governments stepped up efforts to regulate the gambling industry as part of a wider campaign against corruption. From 2012, casinos were required to report suspicious transactions and player lists each month, making it harder for patrons to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n

Beijing Crackdown<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By 2014, this had escalated into a full-scale crackdown<\/a>, as Beijing enforced visa and banking restrictions and squeezed the junket industry, sending Macau\u2019s economy tumbling into a two-year decline.<\/p>\n

Since 2016, Macau\u2019s casinos have been required to hire compliance officers and keep daily records of all transactions, assuming more due diligence and operational obligations, as well as taking more pre-emptive measures to combat money laundering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hong Kong authorities have disrupted a money laundering operation that planned to move bulk cash to Macau casinos through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB). It\u2019s the first known instance of the bridge being used as a conduit for money laundering. It opened in 2018. Customs officials detected the gang\u2019s movements in May and launched an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":184116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHong Kong Customs Bust Money Laundering Gang on HZMB Sea Bridge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Money laundering gang busted on Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge carrying bulk cash, the proceeds of crime, to be laundered at Macau casinos.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hong Kong Customs Bust Money Laundering Gang on HZMB Sea Bridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Money laundering gang busted on Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge carrying bulk cash, the proceeds of crime, to be laundered at Macau casinos.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-27T13:26:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-08-27T19:10:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hong-Kong-Zhuhai-Macau-Bridge-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1269\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"842\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/\",\"name\":\"Hong Kong Customs Bust Money Laundering Gang on HZMB Sea Bridge\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hong-Kong-Zhuhai-Macau-Bridge-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-27T13:26:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-08-27T19:10:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Money laundering gang busted on Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge carrying bulk cash, the proceeds of crime, to be laundered at Macau casinos.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/hong-kong-customs-bust-money-laundering-gang-on-hzmb-sea-bridge\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hong-Kong-Zhuhai-Macau-Bridge-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Hong-Kong-Zhuhai-Macau-Bridge-3.jpg\",\"width\":1269,\"height\":842,\"caption\":\"HZMB links Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai. 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