The Chinese government's anti-corruption crackdown on corrupt officials and VIP gamblers in Macau was successful because it scared away VIP gamblers in Macau who were not willing to be thoroughly investigated by the Chinese authorities. Casinos in Macau lost more than $100 billion due to a lack of business by VIP gamblers, preferring to expand to neighboring countries such as the Philippines, Korea, and Vietnam.
Hong Kong's Deutsche Bank AG recently announced that the Macau government has launched another crackdown on "underground banks" believed to be used by criminals to transfer large sums of money across mainland China's borders. Macau police have conducted several raids on pawn shops suspected of manipulating Chinese Union Pay terminals and illegally transferring cash out of mainland China. Authorities arrested 17 people on August 24 suspected of playing a role in such illegal remittances.
China's Ministry of Public Security later confirmed the seizure and search that the Chinese authorities have launched a new anti-corruption crackdown targeting "underground banks" to prevent money laundering and illegal financing. The crackdown is expected to continue until the end of November 2015. Deputy Public Security Minister Meng Qingfeng has asked security departments across mainland China to be more vigilant in handling financial transactions and to immediately draw the attention of the central bank and the State Exchange Administration for all suspicious transactions.
The new crackdown by Macau authorities will further impact the country's struggling casino industry, and its strict stance on money laundering and corruption has sent a strong message to the casino industry as a whole.
Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Tang said in a statement, "Many Macau junket merchants use underground banking networks to transfer money between Macau and China. This risks further tightening junket liquidity. Galaxy (Galaxy [Entertainment Group Ltd]) and Win Macao (Wynn Macao [Ltd]) are most likely to be affected given their high exposure to VIPs (27-29% of EBITDA). We believe the campaign is the result of China's efforts to control capital outflows, especially after the recent yuan depreciation."
China's economy did not stabilize significantly in 2015, and authorities are closely monitoring all financial transactions as Beijing seeks to bring economic stability to the region.