U.S. regulators are worried about a Macau-based foreign tour industry they say exposes Las Vegas to money laundering.
A report Thursday on Page One of The Wall Street Journal explained how some Chinese high-roller gamblers use “junkets,” as foreign-tour operators are known, to get around a requirement that Chinese residents only take $50,000 in currency abroad a year.
The junket industry, according to the Journal report, is long suspected by U.S. officials and diplomats of being involved in money laundering and organized crime.
And big U.S. casinos are increasing their bets on the business, much to the concern of regulators worried that junket operators are bringing new money laundering methods to Las Vegas.
The Journal report said the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued a web alert last month to casinos advising them to monitor junket operations and junket patrons and report “all available information” on any suspicious activity.
Detailed news link (©WSJ): click here
Link to the WSJ report (Vegas Bet on Chinese VIPs Raises Red Flags With Feds): click here