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Hong Kong’s Anti-Money Laundering Legal Framework
Hong Kong’s anti-money laundering (AML) regime is built upon multiple legislative instruments, including:
- Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) (Cap. 615): Requires designated financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (including trust or company service providers) to conduct customer due diligence (CDD) and maintain proper records. The Ordinance introduced a licensing regime requiring trust or company service providers to obtain a license from the Companies Registry and meet the “fit-and-proper” criteria before providing such services (cr.gov.hk).
- Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance (DTROP) (Cap. 405): Provides for the confiscation of drug trafficking proceeds and requires any person who knows or suspects that a transaction involves such proceeds to file a suspicious transaction report (STR) (cr.gov.hk).
- Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO) (Cap. 455): Empowers authorities to investigate organized crimes and confiscate criminal proceeds, and mandates reporting of transactions suspected to involve crime proceeds (cr.gov.hk).
- United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance (UNATMO) (Cap. 575): Implements UN resolutions prohibiting dealings with terrorist property and requires reporting of transactions suspected to involve terrorist property (cr.gov.hk). The 2018 amendments further prohibit making available property or financial support to designated terrorists, including travel-related assistance.
- United Nations Sanctions Ordinance (UNSO) (Cap. 537): Implements UN sanctions against specific jurisdictions and entities (cr.gov.hk).
- Weapons of Mass Destruction (Prohibition of Provision of Services) Ordinance (WMDPSO) (Cap. 526): Prohibits the provision of services that facilitate the development, production, acquisition, or stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction, including financial, material, training, or technical assistance (cr.gov.hk).
Together, these legislative instruments require institutions to conduct rigorous due diligence on customers and transactions, and to report suspicious activities to the relevant authorities, forming the backbone of Hong Kong’s AML regulatory framework.
