Four people have been arrested in Cotai on Monday, local police authorities announced, with the people suspected of conducting large-scale fraud against local casinos. According to authorities, the four people defrauded two casinos of approximately $2.4 million.

Two Macau Casinos on the Hook, Chips Missing

The Macau Judiciary Police said during a Thursday briefing on the case that at least one of the people showed fraudulent bank statements from a Hong Kong bank. The person sought to prove that their credit was in good standing and convinced the casinos to extend them a line of credit.

Three Hong Kong people, all in their 60s, presented themselves as well-to-do businesspeople, whereas the suspect from Macau, one Wong, was their supposed driver. The police said that in mid-October, the Hong Kongers would visit the Macau casinos and secure a line of credit, usually in the form of non-negotiable gaming chips.

On several occasions, the suspects left casinos with the chips. When the casinos sought them out and demanded the chips be returned, the suspects said that the chips had been transferred to other people.

None of the casinos was named by the police. However, authorities did say that other properties – other than the ones impacted by the scam – had been approached. They refused to extend the line of credit.

The two casinos collectively lost the seven-figure sum and could have lost even more had the suspects not left the properties with the chips. It’s not clear what happened to the chips at present.