HKMA Fines Fubon Bank HK$4 Million for Anti-Money Laundering Violations and Transaction Monitoring Failures

Monetary Authority takes disciplinary action against Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Limited for contravention of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (November 8) that it had completed an investigation and related disciplinary proceedings in relation to Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (FBHK) under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Chapter 615 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (AMLO). The Monetary Authority (MA) has imposed a pecuniary penalty of HK$4,000,000 against FBHK for contravention of the AMLO.

The disciplinary action (Note) follows FBHK’s self-report of transaction monitoring failures and the HKMA’s investigation into FBHK’s systems and controls for compliance with the AMLO. The HKMA found that, between April 2019 and July 2022, FBHK failed to establish and maintain effective procedures for continuously monitoring business relationships with customers. Specifically, FBHK failed to have in place effective procedures for managing system changes, following up on a substantial decrease in transaction alerts, and regularly reviewing the scope of transactions covered by its transaction monitoring system. FBHK also failed to conduct appropriate scrutiny of transactions carried out for customers, and update customer due diligence reviews upon trigger events.

In deciding the disciplinary action, the MA has taken into account all relevant circumstances andfactors, including:

the seriousness of the investigation findings;

the need to send a clear deterrent message to FBHK and the industry about the importance of having effective procedures to address money laundering and terrorist financing risks;

FBHK reported its transaction monitoring failures to the HKMA.It was co-operative during the investigation and enforcement proceedings;

FBHK has carried out remediation to address the identified transaction monitoring failures and the associated control deficiencies; and

FBHK has no previous disciplinary record.

The Executive Director (Enforcement and AML) of the HKMA, Mr Raymond Chan, said, "The AMLO requires banks to put in place effective procedures for continuous monitoring of their business relationships with customers so that potential money laundering and terrorist financing activities are detected early. When changes are introduced to existing monitoring systems, bank management should ensure that the scope of surveillance covers all relevant transactions and any identified deficiencies are followed up promptly."

Note: The disciplinary action is taken under section 21 of the AMLO. The AMLO imposes customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements on specified financial institutions, including Authorized Institutions, and designated non-financial businesses and professions. The MA is the relevant authority with respect to Authorized Institutions under the AMLO.

EMSD investigates suspension incident of Hong Kong Observation Wheel

​The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) is investigating the suspension incident of the Hong Kong Observation Wheel happened today (December 5).

An EMSD spokesman said, "Upon notification of the suspension incident of the Hong Kong Observation Wheel at 5.26pm today, EMSD officers immediately conducted an on-site investigation. The preliminary findings revealed that the failure of the backup system of the observation wheel has triggered the safety system to suspend the observation wheel. The operator followed the operation procedures to restart the observation wheel and release the passengers. All passengers were safely evacuated at 5.48pm, and no passengers were injured in the incident."

For safety's sake, the EMSD has requested the Hong Kong Observation Wheel to conduct a detailed inspection and reopen it only after confirming safety by the competent person of the amusement ride. The Hong Kong Observation Wheel is required to submit a report on the incident. TheEMSD will continue closely monitoring the operation of the Hong Kong Observation Wheel.