Grocery store shopkeeper convicted of operating money service without licence and fined HK$16,000

2022-08-17

17th August 2022 - (Hong Kong) A female shopkeeper of a grocery store was fined $16,000 today at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts after being convicted of operating a money service without a valid licence.

After investigation, Customs officers in July last year discovered the female shopkeeper had been operating a remittance business at a grocery store in Kowloon City after the renewal application for a Money Service Operator licence was rejected. Therefore, she was suspected of operating a money service without a licence.

Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, a person who wishes to operate a remittance or money changing service needs to first obtain a licence from the Customs and Excise Department. The maximum penalty for such operators without a valid licence upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for six months. 

Source: Dimsum Daily