HK Authorities Consult On New Money Laundering Rules

by Mary Swire, LawAndTaxNews.com, Hong Kong

24 July 2009

Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has announced that it is seeking public views on the conceptual framework of a legislative proposal on the anti-money laundering regulatory regime for the financial sectors.

The proposal aims to address issues identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during an evaluation of the SAR's anti-money laundering regime undertaken last year.

The consultation document contains details of:

• The financial institutions which would be subject to the proposed legislation;
• The customer due diligence and record-keeping obligations would have to be met; the liability and offence for breaching such obligations;
• The regulatory authorities' powers in supervising compliance, with appropriate checks on the exercise of such powers;
• Criminal and supervisory sanctions for breaches of the obligations; and
• A proposed licensing system applicable to entities engaging in remittance and money-changing services for anti-money laundering regulatory purposes.

According to the FSTB, the view of the relevant trade bodies and professional organisations will be sought, and the Bureau will arrange consultative sessions for concerned financial-services groups.

These views will be taken into account in drawing up the detailed legislative proposals, and another round of consultation on the detailed legislative proposals is planned for towards the end of the year, the FSTB further revealed.

It is then hoped that the bill can go before the Legislative Council in Q2 2010.

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