Triads endemic in booming Macau: security expert
HONG KONG (AFP) — A leading Asian security expert warned Tuesday of endemic corruption in Macau, saying triads had become part of mainstream society in the booming gambling centre.
Steve Vickers, president of security consultants International Risk, said the scale of organised crime and money-laundering in the former Portuguese colony had provoked the authorities in Beijing to make it a priority.
"I generally believe that corruption is getting out of control. Macau is becoming a mess," he told an audience from the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
"Macau is held together by tectonic plates, but the fabric... of Macau is being gutted. There has been a gentrification of triad society," he said.
Vickers cited undocumented gambling visits by mainland officials to launder illegally-obtained cash, the appearance of murdered bodies along the nearby Chinese coast and graft charges against senior government figures as examples of the worsening situation.
He added that Hong Kong was also in danger of allowing organised crime to become an acceptable part of society.
"China's focus is on the Olympics, but after 15 minutes after they finish, the attention will be turned to Macau. This is a serious concern for the central government," he added.
Vickers, who headed Hong Kong's Criminal Intelligence Bureau during his 18 years in the city's police force, added that Macau could descend into chaos after the death of billionaire casino magnate Stanley Ho, who remains one of the most powerful figures in the territory.
He stressed that Ho had never been involved in organised crime, but that his influence in maintaining the territory's stability could not be underestimated.
Vickers added there was resentment from the Chinese authorities about the surfeit of US-based operators who have ploughed their money into giant new operations in Macau, and reaped the benefits.
Macau's booming entertainment sector has seen the small city overtake the Las Vegas Strip in terms of gaming revenues, pulling in 7.2 billion dollars last year.
Last year, the former transport minister Ao Man-long, was arrested on charges of money-laundering and corruption, in the highest profile graft case in the city's history.
Ao is alleged to have amassed a personal fortune of more than 100 million dollars, 57 times his family's income.
