The Macau government announced it would hold a meeting with six companies authorized to operate casino gambling in the region, following the arrest and detention of 18 employees of Australian Enterprise Crown Resorts Limited over the weekend.
According to a report by radio and television broadcaster Teleedifusao De Macao, the economy and finance minister of Macau, Lionel Leng, stated that no local casino company was involved in the case, even though the government intends to "carefully" investigate the matter.
"There is no direct connection between the case and local game operators," Leung said. "The game watchdog called for a meeting with six game operators. We have reminded them many times that any commercial activity or action must be strictly followed by local laws in Macau or elsewhere."
Employees of Melbourne-based Crown Resorts Limited have been arrested by Shanghai police for gambling-related crimes after months of investigation as part of an operation called "Duanlian," which translates to "to break the chain" in Chinese. The Chinese government has long sought to reduce its citizens' participation in overseas gambling by ending personal and financial relations between foreign casino operators and mainland customers. Officials led by President Xi Jinping recognize the activity has been linked to corruption, money laundering and domestic instability, especially since many of the gamblers who went bankrupt as a result of gambling were small business owners.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that those arrested over the weekend but not yet charged included Jason O'Connor, general manager of VIP International at Crown Resorts Limited, and Bloomberg News detailed that authorities had warned the Australian company of activities from a year ago and that the company had reached a change in marketing activities.