Anti-Money Laundering Course (English)

“AMLO Statutory Requirements” course (English) co-organized by our Association and Institute of Professional Education and Knowledge (PEAK) will be held on 7 November 2019 (Thursday night). The senior Compliance Advisor of our Association, Mr. Kenneth Kwan, will be the speaker of the course. Since sufficient staff training is significantly effective in combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and HKC&ED requires MSOs to receive relevant AML continuous training, our Association encourages MSOs to proactively participate as well as to arrange and encourage their staff to attend our courses so as to ensure that the staffs can detect irregular or suspicious financial activities and to deepen staff’s understand on the importance of AMLO statutory.

The course only costs MSOA Member HK$490 each. To verify the eligibility to the special discount, applicants must enrol in the course through the Hong Kong Money Service Operators Association. For more details or any queries, please visit our website or call our hotline at 3176 2004.

HKC&E recommends that licensed money service operators to use computer system to process and store customer information with daily transaction records. By organising customer records into data files systematically, MSOs will be better in monitoring any suspicious activities and easier to ensure the completeness of the customer and transaction information.

Our Association encourages licensed money service operators to make use of computer system for customer data management with ongoing transaction monitoring functions to operate its money service business. We also encourage MSOs to use background check tools to identify customers with any criminal offense, sanctioned personnel or political exposed persons (“PEP”), etc. This will help to increase the Compliance level as well as AML awareness of the MSO. At the same time, this will also lift the confidence for banks in having business relationship with money service operators. The use of computer system can also assist the MSOs in finding relevant documents and information quickly for both normal operation as well as providing assistance to any investigation needed by enforcement agents.

Money Service Operators’ businesses are easily targeted by gangsters due to massive cash handing, delivery and transport. A part from installing security system. Money Service Operators can consider to purchase "Money Service Business Insurance" offered by insurance companies in order to provide additional security to their business. Protection mainly includes (the following is only for reference only):

Our Association hopes the above information is useful for MSOs to consider its business needs as well as cost involved. If MSOs are interested in the insurance mentioned above, please contact us for assistance in the communication with relevant insurance company.

Cases involved with licensed money service operators in recent years are as follow:

Acting on complaint, officers of the HKC&ED earlier discovered a grocery shop in Yuen Long suspected of operating money service without a licence. A man was fined $8,000 on August 22 at Fanling Magistrates' Courts for operating a money service without a valid licence.

According to AMLO, anyone who wishes to operate remittances and/or currency exchange services must apply for a MSO licence from HKC&ED.

Our Association would like to draw your attention that any person who operates a money service without a valid license commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for six months

Security Features Are Clear At A Glance

The 2018 series new $100 banknotes are issued on 3rd,September, 2019. The new banknotes have incorporated advanced security features. Expert on New Banknotes Security Features, Aaron Kwok, will demonstrate how to feel the embossed surface on the banknote and examine the dynamic shimmering pattern and windowed metallic thread. Other features include enhanced watermark, concealed and fluorescent see-through denomination. The selected thematic subjects represent different aspects of Hong Kong, including IFC on $1,000 note, the Hong Kong Geopark on $500 note, Cantonese Opera on $100 note, Butterfly in Hong Kong on $50 note and Dim Sum and Tea Culture on $20 note. Read More

Hong Kong Customs combats unfair trade practice at money changer

Hong Kong Customs today (May 9) arrested a sole proprietor of a money changer suspected of having applied a false trade description to the remittance service supplied, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO). Hong Kong Customs earlier received information alleging that a money changer in Mong Kok made a false claim to a customer that the money would be remitted to the bank accounts designated by the customer, but then failed to provide the service accordingly....Read More

Hong Kong police hunt for armed gang who stole HK$1.8 million in daring To Kwa Wan hold-up

Police were searching on Monday for an armed gang who attacked a man in a daring daylight robbery in To Kwa Wan.A police source said "the victim had a bag robbed in an attack by three to four men who carried either a knife or a pipe". The bag contained about HK$1.8 million (US$229,342) in cash, according to the source. He said the robbers fled in a getaway vehicle before officers arrived....Read More

Mainland Chinese woman jailed for five years in Hong Kong for her part in a US$137.8 million money laundering scheme

Liu Sujun, 34, allowed the money to be transferred through a bank account in the name of a company she owned in over 2,300 transactions in 2015 and 2016. The case came to light when police investigated an international phone scam targeting a Czech company. A mainland Chinese woman was jailed for five years in Hong Kong on Tuesday over a HK$1 billion money-laundering scheme uncovered when police investigated an international phone scam… Read More