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Important notice from Company Registry on TCSPs - 9 Sep 2019
09 Sep 2019FATF Published Mutual Evaluation Report of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Trustees’ Association represented the Hong Kong trust services providers in the mutual evaluation process over the last two years. “Having participated first hand in the FATF review of Hong Kong, I found the breadth and depth of the peer review process remarkable,” Jacqueline Shek, Chairperson of the HKTA said “It is of course pleasing to see that the mammoth efforts that have been put into enhancing the AML regime for Hong Kong Trust and Corporate Services Providers over the last three years have been recognised in this Report.” A robust AML/CTF system is an integral aspect of maintaining the international reputation of Hong Kong’s leading wealth management and financial services industry.
We are pleased to inform you that the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) has published the Mutual Evaluation Report of Hong Kong ("Report") commending Hong Kong's efforts in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The Government has issued a press release on the matter.
The Report summarises the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (“AML/CTF”) measures in place in Hong Kong and confirms that Hong Kong has a strong legal foundation and effective AML/CTF system, which is particularly effective in the areas of risk identification, law enforcement, asset recovery, counter-terrorist financing and international co-operation. Hong Kong's AML/CTF regime is assessed to be compliant and effective overall, making it the first jurisdiction in the Asia-Pacific region to have achieved an overall compliant result in the current round of FATF evaluation.
The mutual evaluation on Hong Kong, lasting for over a year, was undertaken by an assessment team comprising 10 experts from the FATF and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (“APG”). The Report was examined and adopted by the FATF membership at its June Plenary held in Orlando, the United States, and the APG membership at its August Plenary held in Canberra, Australia.
The compliant result of the mutual evaluation is a remarkable achievement of the AML/CTF regime of Hong Kong.