WMLRO.Com: HKMA amends money laundering guidance
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has amended its Money Laundering Guidelines. A new law is still somewhere over the rainbow but at least regulators are trying to deal with issues raised in the FATF's mutual evaluation report.
Not all the amendments increase the compliance / risk management burden. For example, the notice published late this evening Hong Kong time says "The HKMA's current Supplement includes address as an integral part of an individual's identity for verification purposes. As a result [authorised institutions] AIs need to verify the address of the direct customer as well as all connected parties( i.e. account signatories, directors, principal shareholders, etc.). After considering the FATF's requirements and the international practices, we have decided that AIs should record and verify the address of direct customer. For connected parties and transactions undertaken by non-account holders, AIs should record the address of these [parties] and determine the need to verify their addresses on the basis of risk and materiality."
Other amendments include those relating to the identification of directors of companies (to reduce the requirement) and to provide for reliance on due diligence by intermediaries.
A full analysis of the changes will appear in World Money Laundering Report Vol 9 No 3.
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