A major casino credit fraud case recently occurred in Cotai, Macau, where four suspects (three Hong Kong residents and one local Macau driver) were arrested for allegedly forging electronic bank statements to defraud two casinos of a total credit line of about 19 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 2.4 million US dollars). The main culprit, a Hong Kong resident surnamed Li, and his gang obtained credit through a false deposit certificate of 48 million Hong Kong dollars, then cashed out using non-cash chips and quickly left the scene, causing huge losses to the casinos. The case has now been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office, and the police warn that there are still accomplices at large, with investigations ongoing.
Case Details and Modus Operandi
Headed by a Hong Kong resident named Li, the four suspects forged electronic bank statements from a Hong Kong bank in mid-October, falsely declaring an account balance of 48 million Hong Kong dollars, successfully applying for and obtaining a credit line of 10 million Hong Kong dollars from one casino. The gang, including two fellow Hong Kong residents and a 36-year-old Macau driver named Huang, quickly exchanged for non-cash chips and made brief bets before immediately cashing out and leaving, only returning 1.58 million Hong Kong dollars, with the whereabouts of the remaining 8.41 million Hong Kong dollars unknown.
Loss Scale and Related Investigations
In addition to the confirmed fraud of 10 million Hong Kong dollars, investigations suggest that the gang may have used the same method to defraud another casino of 9 million Hong Kong dollars. Two other casinos were approached but did not approve their credit applications. Police arrested the four individuals in a casino in Cotai, seizing 300,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash on the spot. The total amount involved in the case is preliminarily estimated to be 19 million Hong Kong dollars.
Current Progress and Risk Warning
The four suspects have been transferred to the Macau Public Prosecutions Office, and the case is still under further investigation. The Judiciary Police pointed out that there are still other members of the gang at large, urging the public and gaming enterprises to be vigilant, strengthen credit review mechanisms, and guard against similar fraudulent financial documentation practices.
