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Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Hong Kong and Macau regulators intensify efforts against money laundering, financial crime and terrorist funding

Authorities warn of major threats to fiscal security

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The People's Bank of China, the nation’s central bank, in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Niall Fraser
Hong Kong and Macau have launched simultaneous shake-ups of the systems they have in place to tackle the growing menace of money laundering, financial crime and the funding of terrorist groups.

In separate yet starkly similar announcements issued late Friday, financial regulators in both cities stated their “determination” to fight serious financial crime and laundering, underlining the threat they posed to “financial security and stability”.

In a signal that Beijing – whose concerns about capital flight and the movement of corrupt cash are well documented – wants a more co-ordinated approach to tackling the problem, the opening line of the Macau Monetary Authority statement said the upholding of financial security had been “elevated to the national level”.

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The casino hub’s financial regulator stressed that the statement had been agreed by the People’s Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) following a meeting in the former Portuguese enclave on Friday which agreed to create a “Financial Security Expert Alliance”.
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The meeting was attended by the HKMA’s head of information technology, Tan Yong-wah, and senior officials from the People’s Bank of China. It also heard a statement from the vice-governor of the PBOC, Yi Gang.

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