A leading Asian security expert warned yesterday of endemic corruption in Macau, saying triads had become part of mainstream society in the booming gambling center.
Steve Vickers, president of security consultants International Risk, said the scale of organized crime and money-laundering in Macau had provoked the authorities in Beijing to make addressing the problem 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 said that Hong Kong was also in danger of allowing organized 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 said.
Vickers, who headed Hong Kong's Criminal Intelligence Bureau during his 18 years in the city's police force, said that Macau could descend into chaos after the death of billionaire casino magnate Stanley Ho (
He stressed that Ho had never been involved in organized crime, but that his influence in maintaining the territory's stability could not be underestimated.
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