A mainlander was arrested in Macau on Friday evening for coaxing another mainlander into becoming his “money mule”*, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong announced in a regular press conference on Saturday.
Cheong identified the suspect as a 32-year-old male, surnamed He, who claimed to be jobless.
The “money mule” had initially been the victim of an “authorities’ impersonation scam” by the same fraudster.
According to Cheong, the investigation began on November 19, when a bank employee notified the Judiciary Police about a young woman who acted “abnormally” while withdrawing a large sum of money for the second time.
An investigation revealed that she had fallen victim to an “authorities’ impersonation scam” and had handed over 557,280 patacas to the “money mule”, who was caught by the police at the same time.
The “money mule”, after collecting the cash, delivered it to He at a hotel in Cotai as instructed by the fraudster. At the time of the police investigation, He had already transferred the money through cryptocurrency.
Thanks to prompt police intervention, the “money mule” was prevented from transferring a further 437,750 patacas handed over by another young female victim on November 18, the full amount of which was recovered, Cheong said.
A follow-up investigation uncovered that the “money mule” was originally a scam victim himself. He was defrauded out of 400,000 yuan on October 16. Subsequently, the fraudsters convinced him to assist the “Chinese Public Security Bureau” to collect money from the two female victims, and hand over the money to He, as this would help “atone for his crimes through good deeds”, Cheong added.
Cheong noted that He was intercepted by police at Macau International Airport on Friday evening, as he prepared to leave the city. He has been detained on suspicion of aggravated fraud and money laundering and was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Saturday for further investigation.
The “money mule” has been handed over to the Public Prosecutions Office for further investigation.
*The term “money mule” refers to a person who is used to transfer illegally acquired money on behalf of others, often as part of a scam or financial crime. Money mules may unknowingly or knowingly assist criminals in laundering funds. – Poe
The hooded money-laundering scam suspect is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle on Saturday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
