Taipei, March 23, 2026 (Lusa) - Taiwan police announced on Monday that they have dismantled a criminal group suspected of using Macau casinos to launder NT$33 billion (€893 million) originating from illegal online gambling.
Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said the group allegedly recruited individuals to acquire gambling chips in Macau casinos using credit cards before converting the chips into cash.
The investigation began in the second half of 2025, after the CIB identified suspicious money flows leaving several bank accounts flagged for links to illegal online casinos and fraud.
According to a CIB statement, the money was transferred to accounts whose holders requested high-limit credit cards.
The group's agents used at least 85 credit cards to purchase gambling chips in Macau casinos, which were later converted into Hong Kong dollars.
The CIB stated that this is the first case of cross-border money laundering using casinos uncovered by Taiwan's police forces and that it allegedly involved approximately NT$33 billion.
According to local media, police said on Monday at a press conference that they had detained 20 people, including two alleged ringleaders of the group, on 9 March.
The operation also led to the freezing of nearly NT$231 million (€6.22 million) in bank accounts and the seizure of NT$2.62 million (€71,000) in cash.
Lusa asked the Macau Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) if it was monitoring the case, but has not received any response so far.
The number of suspicious transactions recorded in the casinos of Macau, the gambling capital of the world, fell by 6.1% in 2025, according to official data.
The GIF noted that the six casino operators in the Chinese region submitted a total of 3,603 reports of transactions suspected of money laundering or terrorist financing.
Casinos, banks, insurers, and other institutions and entities, including pawnshops, jewellery stores, real estate agencies, and auction houses, are required to report any transaction equal to or greater than 500,000 patacas (approximately €53,600) to the authorities.
In March 2022, the U.S. State Department designated Macau as one of the world's major money laundering hubs, pointing to high-roller recruiters and the "illicit activities they often facilitate."
This occurred despite the November 2021 arrest of Alvin Chau Cheok Wa, leader of Suncity, which was then the world's largest VIP betting recruiter.
According to the GIF's annual report, Macau was the only member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering that complied with "all 40 international standards" on money laundering prevention.
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