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RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHHK #4735/01 3480403
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140403Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9791
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9925
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0257
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 3454
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0985
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 4281
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 3275
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 7114
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 1650

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 004735 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM, EB/ESC/TFS 
STATE FOR INL 
TREASURY FOR LEVEY/GLASER/SHARMA/LAROSA 
FBI FOR MONEY LAUNDERING UNIT/FINANCIAL CRIMES SECTION 
DEA FOR FINANCIAL OPERATIONS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN PREL MC
SUBJECT: Expanding USG Financial Crimes Training to 
Macau 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST:  During 2005 - 2006 
the USG has provided Macau's law enforcement authorities 
substantial training in anti-money laundering, financial 
crimes and counterterrorism financing (detailed in para 7). 
The USG-sponsored training has focused on providing Macau's 
law enforcement authorities with tools to identify and 
investigate money laundering, terrorist financing, credit 
card/bank fraud, cybercrime and other financial crimes. 
Macau passed significant anti-money legislation in 2006 and, 
as a next step, will be working on developing the knowledge 
and institutional means to effectively integrate the 
investigatory, analytic and prosecutorial aspects of a sound 
financial regulatory system.  With Macau in the process of 
establishing a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), ConGen 
Hong Kong's Law Enforcement Committee recommends that the 
next stage of training focus on enhancing Macau's senior 
Monetary Authority and Law Enforcement officials? 
understanding of FIU operations, to include receiving, 
analyzing and disseminating suspicious transaction reports; 
working with the Public Prosecutions Office on how to 
prosecute cases; and sharing information with other 
jurisdictions.  The goal would be to strengthen Macau's FIU 
operations and help it move toward Egmont-type operations 
and membership. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) ConGen Hong Kong requests Washington agencies 
consider what type of USG expertise could be made available 
toward this end, possibly, but not limited to deploying to 
Macau resident advisors from Treasury's Office of Technical 
Assistance, trainers from IRS-CID National Criminal 
Investigation Training Academy and/or instructors from the 
International Financial Fraud Training Program (IFFTP). 
Macau's growing casino industry has provided the MSARG with 
rapidly increasing tax revenues and larger budgets and its 
possible that the Macau Special Administrative Region 
Government (MSARG) would be able to cover some of the 
training costs.  END SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST. 
 
¶3.  (U) The United States Government is increasing its 
interactions/profile in Macau in commercial, economic, 
financial, law enforcement and other areas.  U.S. private 
sector investment is growing rapidly in Macau, particularly 
in the gaming, tourism and convention industries.  In 2006, 
U.S. investment in Macau is estimated to reach US$2.5 
billion and in the three-year period from 2006 - 2008 will 
likely surpass US$8 billion.  Two U.S. gaming enterprises 
have operations in Macau, the Sands and Wynn.  The Sands 
opened a casino in May 2005 and the Wynn opened a 
resort/casino in September 2006.  MGM is building a 
resort/casino in Macau, scheduled to open in 2007.  The 
Sands Venetian is building a 3000-room 
resort/casino/convention center that is scheduled to open in 
¶2007. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Since the U.S. Treasury Department designated 
Macau-based Banco Delta Asia as a "primary money laundering 
concern" in September 2005, the Macau Monetary Authority has 
been cooperating with U.S. Treasury authorities in 
investigating the bank. On March 23, 2006, the MSARG passed 
a 12-article anti-money laundering bill.  Macau is in the 
process of establishing a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). 
The FIU is working with the Macau Judiciary Police on 
protocols for the receipt of suspicious transactions reports 
(STRs) and with the Public Prosecutions Office on how to 
prosecute financial crimes cases. 
 
¶5.  (U) As the USG supports Macau's efforts to strengthen 
the regulatory oversight of its financial, banking and 
casino sectors and as U.S. investment continues flowing into 
Macau, training efforts as mentioned below provide an 
opportunity to strengthen U.S. - Macau law enforcement ties 
and provide much needed and appreciated capacity building to 
 
HONG KONG 00004735  002 OF 003 
 
 
Macau's law enforcement community. Post notes that in 
January 2007, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will 
conduct an additional Anti-Money Laundering Course for 
approximately forty members of Macau's Judiciary Police. 
 
¶6.  (U) Post's Law Enforcement Committee (chaired by the 
Consul General and Deputy Principal Officer and consisting 
of representatives from State's Economic/Political and 
Consular Sections and Regional Security Office, FBI, DEA, 
DHS/ICE, DHS/CBP, IRS-CID, USSS, Department of 
Commerce/Bureau of Industry and Security, and Executive 
Staff) notes that so far training has been geared toward 
providing Macau's law enforcement authorities with tools to 
identify and investigate money laundering, terrorist 
financing, credit card/bank fraud, cybercrime and other 
financial crimes.  Post's Law Enforcement Committee members 
support this ongoing training by both coordinating the 
training and in sharing their in-house expertise with 
Macau's law enforcement authorities.  Post's Law Enforcement 
Committee concurs that emphasis should be shifted in coming 
months to a higher-level, toward encouraging information 
sharing and prosecutions of financial crimes in Macau.  With 
the MSARG in the process of establishing a Financial 
Intelligence Unit (FIU), the newly formed FIU would benefit 
from training in the receipt, analysis and dissemination of 
suspicious transaction reports, working with the public 
prosecutors office on how to prosecute cases and information 
sharing with other jurisdictions pursuant to the Egmont 
guidelines for FIUs.  USG-provided training would usually 
emphasize improving the skills and policy understanding of 
more senior Macau regulatory officials, in addition to the 
law enforcement officers. 
 
Recent Training Programs for Macau 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7. USG-provided anti-money laundering training/financial 
crimes training to Macau police authorities during 2005 - 
2006: 
 
-November 13 - 17, 2006: U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and 
Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (DHS/ICE) and Customs and Border Protection 
(DHS/CBP) personnel provided training to Macau Law 
Enforcement Officers from the Unitary Police Force, the 
Judiciary Police and the Public Security Police.  (NOTE: 
The Unitary Police Services oversee both the Judiciary 
Police and the Public Security Police, making both sides 
work in tandem.  The Judiciary Police is responsible for 
serious crime investigations and the Public Security Police 
is primarily responsible for maintaining law and order.) 
Training consisted of detection of U.S. counterfeit 
banknotes, credit card/bank fraud, cybercrime and money 
laundering.  Macau mid-level/working investigators attended 
the training, which focused on measures/procedures for 
actual criminal field investigations.  The training was well 
received by the Macau officers.  Additionally, the U.S. 
Secret Service conducted a separate seminar that covered 
 
SIPDIS 
counterfeit U.S. currency detection on November 15 for the 
Macau Monetary Authority, with approximately sixty 
participants from various Macau banks and casinos taking 
part.  The Department of State's Bureau of International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) proposed this 
training course for the Macau Police authorities and 
provided funding for the visiting U.S. Secret Service 
trainers. 
 
-April 24 - 28, 2006: U.S. Treasury's Office of Technical 
Assistance and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal 
Investigation Division (IRS-CID) Hong Kong collaborated to 
provide a one week training course in Macau.  The focus of 
the course was on Financial Investigative Techniques, Money 
 
HONG KONG 00004735  003 OF 003 
 
 
Laundering, and Terrorist Financing, and included 
approximately 48 participants from the Macau Gaming 
Inspection, Judiciary Police, Financial Services Bureau, 
Customs, Unitary Police, Commission Against Corruption, 
Trade and Investment Promotion Bureau, Monetary Authority, 
and the Justice Department.  One afternoon session was open 
to the financial sector, and included approximately 100 
participants from banks and other financial institutions in 
Macau. 
 
- Since October 2005, the Consulate's Regional Security 
Office has sent 22 Macau police officers to the 
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok, 
Thailand.  At ILEA, the Macau Officers have taken courses on 
complex financial investigations, computer crimes, 
intellectual property rights as well as post-blast 
investigations, crime scene investigations, facility 
security and officer survival.  The Macau police say the 
professional training they receive from ILEA, and the 
opportunity to meet counterparts from other Asian countries, 
have benefited the police force. 
 
-May 24 - 25, 2005:  The Federal Bureau of Investigation 
(FBI) in collaboration with IRS-CID and DHS/ICE sponsored a 
seminar at Hong Kong Police Headquarters on money laundering 
techniques.  Assistant Director of the IRS-CID National 
Criminal Investigation Training Academy, Advanced Training 
Section, provided a presentation on border-related money 
laundering techniques involving "casa de cambios" (exchange 
houses) at the U.S. border.  The Macau Judiciary Police 
attended this seminar, which provided an opportunity for 
both liaison and technical assistance. 
 
-February 24 - 25, 2005:  The FBI in collaboration with IRS- 
CID and DHS/ICE sponsored a seminar at Hong Kong Police 
Force Headquarters on anti-money laundering and the counter- 
financing of terrorism.  The Macau Judiciary Police attended 
this seminar, which provided an opportunity for both liaison 
and technical assistance. 
 
-January 10 - 14, 2005 - Drug Enforcement Administration 
Hong Kong Country Office hosted a Money Laundering/Asset 
Forfeiture Training Seminar in Macau, conducted by the DEA's 
Office of International Training.  Officers from the Unitary 
Police Bureau, Judiciary Police, Gaming Commission, Office 
of Economy and Finance, Gaming Inspection Bureau, Office of 
International Affairs, Monetary Authority and Office of 
Legal Affairs attended. 
 
Cunningham