The war that Chinese President Xi Jinping leads against corruption in China is about to enter a new stage. It was announced that Chinese security chiefs will begin an unparalleled operation against money laundering in Macau, one of the world’s top-class gambling hubs. The offensive will be supervised by the Ministry of Public Security.
Macau, a former Portuguese colony, has been thriving since it was returned to China.
According to a gambling industry expert, this operation is “big” and it will certainly harm the reputation of important political figures.
An anonymous analyst claimed that this move could be related to the “Operation Fox Hunt”, monitored by the Communist Party. The primary goal of this operation is for corrupt politicians, who left the country with huge amounts of public money, to be found.
Macau’s casino industry has developed quite quickly after the administrative region was handed back to China. Back in 2002, it was announced that foreign investors would be allowed access to the city and world-famous industry giants such as Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson started patronizing the only Chinese piece of land where gambling is absolutely legal.
This brought major economic benefits to Macau. For instance, last year, the gambling hub generated total revenues of $43.3 billion or seven times more than those generated by the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.
This, however, had a negative effect on Macau’s reputation. Now, the city has to fight major problems such as prostitution, constant shortage of doctors and teachers, people trafficking, etc. Needless to say, the place has turned into an attractive destination for money launderers.
During the past several years, Macau has been struggling to improve its reputation by bringing famous athletes and artists that would attract the attention of different types of tourists than its regular ones. A few days ago, the Chinese government stated that the administrative region should become less reliant on gambling and the related activities.
Officials have been particularly concerned about the actions of Chinese citizens in Macau. Due to this, a great number of CCTV cameras have been installed around the city so as for authorities to be able to stay informed about what people do when they are on the territory of the gambling hub.
Professor Davis Fong from the University of Macau shared that there are cameras in 35 casinos and thus, players can be watched carefully. He also pointed that the administrative region works closely with Chinese authorities and more specifically with the police department.
The announcements about the security chiefs’ operation led to a plummet in casino operators’ shares. For instance, earlier today, Galaxy Entertainment Group’s shares marked an 8% decrease and Sands China’s dropped by 5%.
