The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today 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 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 Authority has taken into account a variety of factors, including the seriousness of the investigation findings, as well as 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.