An illegal currency exchange dealer was arrested on Friday for defrauding a “learner” out of 84,500 yuan (105,400 patacas) by claiming to teach him how to run a currency exchange business, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said at a press conference on Monday.
The 36-year-old male jobless suspect from the mainland is surnamed Zhang.
According to Lei, the Public Security Police (PSP) referred a fraud case to the Judiciary Police last Wednesday according to which a male mainlander had been cheated by a currency exchange dealer out of 84,500 yuan. The victim in his twenties told PJ officers that he met the suspect in a casino in Cotai in March. The victim later told the suspect that he would like to enter the currency exchange business and asked the suspect to teach him how to do it. The victim came to Macau on May 8 and met the suspect in a hotel in Cotai. The suspect told the victim that a simulation operation was required and asked the victim to transfer 84,500 yuan to him in exchange for HK$100,000.
The victim transferred the money from his bank account in the mainland in three separate amounts on the same day and the following day to the suspect’s bank account. Afterwards, the suspect came up with a string of excuses and did not return the money to the victim who finally reported the case to the police.
Lei said that PJ officers discovered that the suspect returned to the mainland at noon on May 9 via the Barrier Gate checkpoint. Zhang was intercepted by the police when he re-entered Macau on Friday. Under questioning, Zhang admitted to defrauding the victim by claiming that he was “teaching” him how to exchange different currencies. He told the police that he had gambled away all the money received from the victim.
Zhang has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing a fraud charge, according to Lei.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei poses during a press conference at the PJ headquarters on Monday. Photo: Camy Tam
