The Second Standing Committee of the Macau Legislative Assembly continued its discussion on Macau’s “Illegal Gaming Law” on Thursday, revealing it will not include legislation on the activities of money exchange gang members in the new law.
The decision comes amid concerns of an increase in the number of money exchange gang members coming to Macau to conduct illegal exchanges, with the number of documented crimes committed by “money changers” reaching 149 in the first quarter of the year – 42 more than in the first quarter of 2019.
There have, as a result, been calls for the government to discuss whether to criminalize the activities of money exchange gang members, while public security authorities recently launched a special work plan to combat illegal exchange crimes in Macau.
However, at Thursday’s meeting of the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly, committee chairman Chan Chak Mo pointed out, quoting the government’s response, that “the government is open minded on whether to criminalize [the activities of] money exchange gang members, but will not include such activities in the Illegal Gaming Law.”
Chan explained that the government’s view on money exchange gang members is that they have no relation to the Illegal Gaming Law.
“Illegal exchange of currency is a financial crime, which has not been a big problem in the past, but the number of money exchange gangs has increased in recent years, so a series of problems have been derived.
“But are the existing laws unable to deal with it? Is it that the financial laws cannot deal with it? The government believes that discussion is needed. The government has an open mind on this.”
At present, illegal money exchange in Macau is a crime in the financial system, which is an administrative offense and therefore usually results in a fine. If the suspects are not Macau residents, police will mostly repatriate them and prohibit them from re-entering the territory on the grounds of “engaging in activities incompatible with the status of tourists”.
“But this practice is not in line with the current situation,” Chan observed. “The cost of repatriation and prohibition of entry is too low to be a deterrent.
“However, if illegal currency exchange is criminalized, the impact will be very significant. Will the private exchange of small amounts between citizens violate the law and lead to a criminal offence?”
With the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly now discussing the Illegal Gaming Law, Chan said it would explore possible amendments and once complete invite government officials to the Legislative Assembly for a more detailed discussion.
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