Macau, China, Oct. 10, 2025 (Lusa) - The number of suspicious transactions recorded in Macau casinos fell by 9.5% in the first nine months of 2025, compared to the same period last year, according to official figures.
The Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) said that the six casino operators in the Chinese region submitted a total of 2,751 reports of suspicious transactions involving money laundering or terrorist financing.
In a statement released on Thursday, the GIF cited “the decrease in the number of suspicious transaction reports made by the gaming sector” through September as the main reason for the 8.9% drop in the total number.
Between January and September, the office received 4,118 reports, of which 73.3% came from casino concessionaires, 21% from banks and insurance companies, and 5.7% from other institutions and entities.
The sectors mentioned, including pawnshops, jewellers, real estate agents and auction houses, are obliged to report any transaction of 500,000 patacas or more (around €53,700) to the authorities.
In 2024, the GIF received 5,245 reports, the majority of which came from the territory's casinos: 3,837, 11.8% more than the previous year and a new record.
In March 2022, the US State Department designated Macau as one of the world's main money-laundering hotspots, citing the appeal of high rollers and the "illicit activities they often facilitate".
This is despite the arrest in November 2021 of Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, head of Suncity, then the world's largest VIP bookmaker.
According to the GIF's annual report, Macau was the only member of the Asia-Pacific Group Against Money Laundering (FATF) that complied with "all 40 international standards" on the prevention of money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The office has signed agreements to exchange information with 33 countries and territories, including the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Judicial Police of the Bank of Portugal in 2008, the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Timor-Leste in 2018 and, in 2019, the Financial Activities Control Board of Brazil and the Financial Intelligence Unit of Cabo Verde.
In July, the GIF said it had finalised procedures to sign an information exchange agreement with Angola to prevent money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The office said that the agreement was on the table at a meeting with representatives of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Republic of Angola, on the sidelines of the Egmont Group meeting between 6 and 11 July in Luxembourg.
The Egmont Group is an international anti-money laundering organisation that brings together 181 intelligence units from around the world.
Angola was added to the FATF's "grey list" in October 2024, after falling short of its legal and financial regulatory regimes.
Mozambique is also on the FATF's "grey list" and was admitted to the Egmont Group in July.
The FATF, an intergovernmental organisation, sets international standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The "grey list" identifies countries that are actively working with the FATF to address strategic weaknesses in these areas.
VQ/ADB // ADB.
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