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Fubon Bank has been fined HK$4 million by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) for not following important rules on stopping money laundering and terrorist financing. The penalty is for breaking the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), a set of rules in Hong Kong aimed at preventing illegal money movement.
The recent fine happened after Fubon Bank informed the HKMA about problems in how it watched over transactions. According to the HKMA, the bank did not have effective steps to manage changes in its monitoring systems.
Fubon Bank Fails To Check Up Alerts On Suspicious Transactions
The HKMA discovered that the bank did not follow up when there was a big drop in alerts on suspicious transactions, which is an important part of tracking for illegal money activities. The HKMA said that between April 2019 and July 2022, Fubon Bank didnâ€t have strong checks to keep an eye on what their customers were doing with money.
The firm also noted that Fubon Bank was not regularly checking which transactions should be watched closely. This meant that some transactions could go unnoticed, even if they were suspicious or unusual. The HKMA stressed the need for banks to review transaction checks often.
The HKMAâ€s investigation also found that Fubon Bank did not update their checks on customers when trigger events happened. Trigger events can be things like big changes in a customerâ€s business or unusual transactions that need more careful review.
HKMA Executive Director Urges Banks To Keep A Close Watch On Transactions
Raymond Chan, Executive Director of Enforcement and Anti-Money Laundering at HKMA, said banks must have strong procedures to keep watch on their customers†business transactions. He said these rules help banks spot suspicious activities early, which helps stop money laundering and terrorist financing.
Chan said that when banks change how they check transactions, they must still watch every kind carefully. He added that if there are any problems in the system, the bank should fix them right away to keep everything working well.
The HKMA announced that it will keep an eye on banks to check if theyâ€re following the rules. It also told banks to have strong systems to stop any bad money activities and to protect their customers. The fine given to Fubon Bank shows that the HKMA expects all banks to be careful about following money rules. Fubon Bank agreed to change its system to follow these rules better in the future.
