Macau’s public prosecutions office says the number of casino-related cases is increasing. “There was a growth in the number of money-laundering cases connected with the gaming industry, mainly with illegal gambling in VIP rooms,” the public prosecutions office said today in a press release. During the first eight months of 2010, the number of money-laundering cases handled by the public prosecutions office soared by 40 percent year-on-year, the body said, without providing figures. At the same time, illegal gambling and loan sharking cases went up by 6 percent, while those of extortion and fraud went up by 11 percent. According to the public prosecutions office, theft and robbery cases went up by 23 percent year-on-year from January to August, with a “significant increase” in the number of thefts taking place inside casinos or somehow related to the gaming industry.
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