Anti–Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing Workshop (English)

"Regulatory Updates and Journey to ML/TF Risk Mitigation for MSO" (English) co-organized by Deloitte China will be held on 3 December 2018 (Monday 12:00 to 14:30).

Further to the recent amendments to Hong Kong's AML legislation together with the upcoming FATF onsite Mutual Evaluation (4th round) in Hong Kong SAR in October and November this year, it has become inevitable for MSOs to implement or further uplift their Anti–Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) governance framework and risk assessment and control methodologies up to regulatory standards and industry best practices.

With a purpose to combat financial crimes collectively with the industry in Hong Kong SAR, Deloitte will share the Money Laundering /Terrorist Financing ("ML/TF") risks and challenges faced by industry practitioners, regulatory updates and trends together with a demo of a simplified AML/CTF risk assessment tool by our guest speaker - Arctic Intelligence.

For more details or any queries, please visit our website or call our hotline at 3176 2004.

C&ED issued a circular to remind that MSOs should conduct ML/TF risk assessment at both the institutional and customer levels. C&ED would like to reiterate that all MSOs should take appropriate steps to identify, assess and understand their ML/TF risks... Read More

The Customs and Excise Department has issued a Circular. It should pay attention to the specific format required by the JFIU and provide relevant information according to the content requirement in specified forms when submitting the Suspicious Transaction Reports (“STRs”)

Our Association recommends all licensed MSOs to make reference to the reporting methods and advice available on the website of the JFIU before filing the STRs

Any suspicion should be reported to JFIU. If they do not make a report in these circumstances, they may be prosecuted for the offence of "Failing To Make A Suspicious Transaction Report", a crime which carries a maximum penalty of a fine of HK$50,000 and three months' imprisonment

HKMA fines Shanghai Commercial Bank for anti-money laundering lapses

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has fined Shanghai Commercial Bank Ltd HK$5 million ($636,967) and reprimanded it for breaching anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing rules. Hong Kong is exposed to medium to high level of money laundering risk, a report in April by the government of the major global financial center said. The former British colony has been beefing up its laws and it is only the third time that the HKMA, which is also the city's central bank, has fined a bank under 2012 anti-money laundering rules. It fined the local branches of State Bank of India in 2015, and Coutts in 2017. Read More

New 100 and 200 euro notes unveiled

The design for the new €100 and €200 bank notes has been unveiled, ahead of entering circulation in May next year. Both notes have new security features which are aimed at making them more difficult to counterfeit. The new notes are smaller than the current versions, meaning they will fit better into people's wallets, the European Central Bank (ECB) said. The size meant the notes would also be handled easier by machines and subject to less wear and tear, it said. The two notes are the last in the Europa series, which feature an image of the... Read More

LCQ20: Bank accounts of licensed money service operators

Following is a question by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, in the Legislative Council today (July 11): Question: At present, operators of money changers must possess a licence granted by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise for operating money changing service, a kind of money service. Some operators of money changers have relayed to me that in recent years, some banks have not only rejected their applications for opening new accounts but also suddenly frozen or cancelled the existing accounts of money changers and the personal accounts of their operators, dealing a serious blow to their business operations. Read More

Having considered the difficulties faced by some Money Service Operators (“MSOs”) in researching United Nations Sanctions List and Political Exposed Persons (PEPs) during customer due diligence, our Association have contacted Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, and to provide relevant database service to MSOs and help them to meet customer due diligence and record keeping requirement.
Dow Jones Risk & Compliance is now pleased to offer a two-week trial version of customer due diligence solutions to our members. If members are interested in this trial service, please contact us on or before 31 October 2018.