Organized Crime is Using Casinos As Means to Launder Money, Claims Investigator

Money laundering

According to reports by Malaysian investigator, casinos throughout several countries in East Asia are used by crime syndicates to launder money.

Senior Investigation Officer, DSP Foo Wei Min from the Bukit Commercial Crime Investigation Department, stated that organized crime groups use the so called “junket accounts” provided by casinos themselves.

Junket accounts are real and credible business facilities that are given to tour companies that casinos cooperate with. The casinos then pay a commission to the tour companies that bring customers to play their games.

The criminal associations would then use the junket account facilities and the firm’s connections with the casino to convert “dirty money” into clean money.

Mobile casinos are also looking to put a stop to this practice, as customer are being diverted toreal land-based casinos, instead of going online to play games.

Crime groups spread to other countries

Foo, who is an expert on forensic accounting, also claims that the crime syndicates expanded their practices across many nations.

The fraudulent tour companies organized trips to Cambodia, Singapore and the Philippines for people to gamble. Additionally, some trips included excursions to countries in Europe.

Foo described the sort of unscrupulous practices that the syndicate group member employ on mobile betting and traditional casino players.

“Their customers are not ordinary gamblers. They lure individuals holding key positions in corporate companies and offer them credit facilities to gamble. It’s basically a system where you play (gamble) first and pay later.”