Junket operators look beyond Macau to sidestep Beijing's crackdown
Shady Macau facilitators of gambling trips for mainland high rollers move cash elsewhere in Asia as central government cracks down
A key component of Beijing's unprecedented anti-corruption campaign - to stem the multi-billion-dollar flow of illegal currency through Macau casinos - is being undermined by junket operators who are shifting huge amounts of gambling cash to other destinations in Asia.
Almost six months after President Xi Jinping urged Macau to exert more control over its casino industry and diversify it's gaming-dominated economy, concerns are growing in the city that this "diversification" of a different kind could spark a renewed crackdown by Beijing.
Junket operators - the shady businesses who take a cut from casinos for bringing in high-spending gamblers and who have suffered badly as a result of the crackdown - have adapted in a variety of ways.
Among them are flying suitcases of cash in private jets and putting in place questionable money-transfer arrangements between Macau and other jurisdictions for wealthy mainland businessmen or officials not keen on being spotted in Macau, so they can gamble under the radar in places like the Philippines, South Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The phenomenon has also prompted a warning from a senior security and integrity official at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, that strict regulatory controls must be imposed on casino licence holders in the face of what he described as an "expansion of organised crime".
A gaming industry insider said: "There is concern in official circles in Macau over the amounts of money being diverted to other jurisdictions by junkets and casino groups.
"Some of the methods being used to facilitate gambling could be in breach of either banking laws or money-laundering regulations in the city. The big fear, though, is that Beijing might not be best pleased and move to do something about it."