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In two briefing sessions organised for real estate agents, the Commissioner for Narcotics, Mrs Rosanna Ure, spoke about the latest trends of money laundering and the impact on the economy, saying estate agents could play an active role to curb the crime.
Mrs Ure attended a seminar yesterday and another today (January 12) organised by the Estate Agents Authority. She explained the role of the Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau and anti-money laundering (AML) recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF).
Mrs Ure said estate agents were among the six categories of designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) who were regarded as "gatekeepers" against money laundering activities under the revised recommendations issued by FATF. She explained the obligations - customer due diligence, record keeping and suspicious transaction reporting requirements - which would be applicable to the trade.
Explaining that FATF required these obligations to be incorporated into legislation of individual jurisdiction, Mrs Ure urged estate agents to give full support to the Government's effort in fighting money laundering. She hoped that with the co-operation of both the business sector and the DNFBPs, Hong Kong would be able to comply with the latest international anti-money laundering standards and maintain Hong Kong's reputation and status as an international financial centre.
The task force has launched a new round of "Mutual Evaluation" of members, and Hong Kong would be subject to evaluation to see whether it had complied with the latest standards.
The seminars are part of the educational programme being undertaken by the Narcotics Division for the financial institutions and the related DNFBPs before the proposed legislative amendments are to be presented to the Legislative Council Panel on Security. The Narcotics Division is also having discussions with The Law Society of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Bar Association and Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants on the legislative framework as well as the professional bodies' readiness to be "self-regulatory bodies", a concept which was accepted by the FATF as an alternative to government's regulatory regime, provided the related professional/regulatory bodies were deemed to be capable of regulating their own members.
Ends/Thursday, January 12, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:00
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