Macau’s Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) has reported a significant spike in the number of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed in 2024, with the total reaching a new record of 5,245. This marks a 13.7% increase from the previous year, driven largely by the gaming sector’s heightened scrutiny. Notably, the 3,837 STRs from gaming operators represent an 11.8% rise year-on-year, setting a fresh milestone since the GIF’s inception in 2006. The rise in these reports signals the growing concern over potential money laundering activities and underscores the region’s intensified efforts to monitor and regulate the gaming industry.

Record-breaking STRs reflect increased vigilance in gaming sector:

The gaming industry has consistently been the dominant contributor to Macau’s STRs, accounting for 73.2% of the total reports filed in 2024. This represents a slight decline from the previous year when the gaming sector accounted for 74.4% of the STRs. However, despite the slight dip in percentage share, the total number of STRs from casinos has sharply increased, underlining the ongoing efforts by Macau’s gaming operators to detect illicit financial activities.

The surge in STR filings from casinos follows a period of growing activity within the Macau gaming sector, especially after Macau’s international borders reopened in early 2023. In fact, the number of STRs filed by gaming operators more than doubled from just 1,215 in 2020 to 3,837 in 2024. This reflects a robust effort by gaming concessionaires to identify irregularities in gambling behaviors, such as the conversion of chips with minimal gaming activity, which is a well-known indicator of potential money laundering.

While the gaming sector remains the largest contributor to STRs, Macau’s financial institutions have also played a substantial role in the overall increase in filings. In 2024, the financial industry submitted 1,097 STRs, a 23.7% jump from the previous year. This increase in STRs from banks and insurance companies helped elevate the overall total, pushing it to a record high. The financial sector’s contribution now stands at 20.9% of the total STRs, up from 19.2% in 2023.

This uptick in STRs from the financial industry is noteworthy, as it marks the highest volume of such reports since 2018. The rise in reports from this sector signals that Macau’s financial institutions are also under greater scrutiny and are becoming more proactive in identifying suspicious transactions that could be linked to money laundering or other illicit financial activities.

Key triggers behind the increase in STRs:

According to Macau Business, several factors have been identified as the key triggers behind the rising number of STRs in both the gaming and financial sectors. The GIF’s 2023 annual report highlighted that the most common cause for the increase in STRs was the conversion of casino chips without significant gambling activity. This type of behavior is frequently associated with money laundering schemes, where chips are exchanged for cash without corresponding gambling losses or wins.

Additionally, suspicious large cash withdrawals, unexplained currency exchanges, and deposits from unverifiable sources have also been flagged as common triggers. In the gaming sector, reports often stemmed from unusual gambling patterns, such as chip conversions or marker redemptions that suggested illicit financial activity. The annual report also pointed to a significant increase in the use of automated teller machines (ATMs) and cash deposit machines (CDMs), with many STRs related to frequent withdrawals and exchanges of cash at these machines.

Of the 5,245 STRs submitted in 2024, 142 were referred to the Public Prosecutions Office for further investigation. This referral rate suggests that a significant portion of the reported activities was deemed serious enough to warrant further legal scrutiny. The increase in both the number of STRs and the cases referred for prosecution reflects the growing commitment by the Macau authorities to crack down on illicit activities linked to money laundering and terrorist financing.