|
Financial industry
|
Non-financial industry
|
|---|---|
|
Banks
|
Solicitors /Notary Public
|
|
SFC Licensed Corporations
|
Accountants/Auditors
|
|
Money Service Operators (MSOs)
|
Trust Companies
|
|
Insurance Companies
|
Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSPs)
|
|
Insurance agents/Brokerages
|
Money lenders/Credit institutions
|
|
Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs)/
Crypto-asset service providers
|
Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones
(DPMS) ‒ Category B
|
|
Stored Value Facilities (SVFs) licensee
|
Casino and Gaming Operators
|
|
|
Art Market Participants
|
|
|
Estate Agents
|
|
|
Investment Funds/LPF/OFC
|
|
|
Fund Administrators
|
Institutions that fail to comply with anti-money laundering regulations may face serious legal consequences, including fines, license revocation, and even imprisonment. In Hong Kong, the maximum penalty can be a fine of HKD 1,000,000 and 7 years of imprisonment. Therefore, organizations in all industries should ensure they understand and implement appropriate anti-money laundering measures to avoid legal risks. This regulation is in place to prevent money laundering activities and protect the health and legitimacy of the industry.
A bank was investigated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for failing to develop and implement effective measures to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance. The investigation found that the bank had not properly reviewed the background and purpose of transactions for certain customers, and had not documented the review findings to continuously monitor the business relationship with these customers.
Specifically, the bank failed to record the names of the recipients when conducting multiple cross-border wire transfers, and did not include the names of the recipients in the relevant wire transfer information.
As a result, the bank was ultimately fined HKD 9 million.
In the investigation by the insurance regulatory authority, a certain insurance company was found to have failed to determine if a customer was a politically exposed person before establishing a business relationship. Furthermore, after confirming that a customer was a politically exposed person, the company did not take appropriate measures to ascertain the source of funds or obtain senior management approval to continue the business relationship. Additionally, the company did not maintain effective procedures to assess business relationships that may pose a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing when establishing such relationships. The company also failed to conduct at least annual reviews of customer documents, data, and information associated with potentially high money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
As a result of violating the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, the insurance company was fined HKD 7 million.
A cryptocurrency service provider was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws. The regulatory authorities imposed a $4.3 billion fine on the cryptocurrency service provider, froze the founder's assets in the U.S., and sentenced the founder to 4 months of imprisonment.
Certain regulated industries, such as SFC-licensed corporations, money service operators, money lenders/credit institutions, trust or company service providers, etc., are required to submit periodic reports to demonstrate the effectiveness of their anti-money laundering measures. These reports include risk assessment reports, employee training records, and audit reports.
1. Individual Account Opening
2. Corporate Account Opening
1. AML Screening
2. Analysis Results
3. Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD)
1. Country Risk
2. Client Risk
3. Product/Service/Transaction Risk
4. Delivery/ Distribution Channel Risk
1. Ongoing screening
2. Ongoing CDD
1. Encryption
2. Cloud Storage
3. Data Export
Screen-X AML/CRM system can help you:KYC, CDD, Screening,risk assessment, and on-going monitoringmatch data against global sanction and blacklist databases, providing financial institutions with accurate risk assessments and decision support. It also offers flexible configuration options, allowing you to customize the system based on the needs of clients from different regions and industries.
