Last year was quite a year for Macau, a Financial Times article reports:
"Macau reported record gambling revenues yesterday [Tuesday, January 4th] with a 2011 total of $33.5bn, a leap of 42 percent - more than five times Las Vegas's expected take of $6bn."
This is great news for China and Macau, a place that is now the world's largest destination for gambling. But as the article reveals, Macau has kept silent about the source of much of the cash: illegal money transfers from mainland China. Illicit revenue in Macau seems to be widespread, which may be indicative to the surfacing problems China's government is facing.
Enid Tsui goes on the explain the relationship between China and its Macau territory:
"From pawn shops offering money withdrawal services to underground banks using human mules to transport cash across the border, Macau tolerates the illicit methods mainland punters use to bring money into the former Portuguese colony, which reverted to Chinese control in 1999."
You can read the whole article, here.
