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." Another new casino destination experiencing an influx of Macau junket operators and mainland money is South Korea. A casino complex on Jeju Island has seen an influx of junket operators offer gambling-chip deals to get round China's strict rules on taking currency out of the country. The surge has prompted South Korean lawmakers to raise concerns over organised crime in the gaming industry. Martin Purbrick, the director of security and integrity at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, returned this week from Seoul where he gave a presentation to lawmakers on the criminal pitfalls of chasing the gaming dollar. Purbrick, a former Hong Kong policeman, said: "Macau casino junkets have been diversifying geographically to other casino locations such as Australia, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam. "Some are also diversifying business lines and using their cash reserves to buy into diverse areas such as financial services, auctions, online games and mining. The problem comes from the criminal and triad-society background of a number of people involved in ... Macau junkets. "[This] looks like an expansion of organised crime that governments in the region have to understand. Governments need to stop organised crime and triad-society influence expanding, by ensuring that there are strict regulatory controls on the casino-license holders, as well as investigations into areas where casino junkets are investing to ensure that there is no money laundering involved."
