Oversight October 2017 - Hong Kong updates its AML regime and refines AEOI requirements
This Oversight considers two amendment bills that were introduced this year to update Hong Kong's AML regime and the IRD's clarification regarding the business registration requirement for funds.
On 23 June 2017, the Hong Kong government published the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) (Amendment) Bill 2017 and the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2017 (Amendment Bills) in the Hong Kong Gazette. If enacted, the Amendment Bills will extend the statutory customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements, currently applicable to financial institutions, to designated non-financial businesses and professions such as law firms and trust companies, and will introduce statutory requirements for certain Hong Kong incorporated companies to maintain registers of ultimate ownership information (often known as beneficial ownership registers).
Separately, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is implementing the common reporting standard (CRS) in Hong Kong and has clarified that business registration is required for investment funds carrying on a business in Hong Kong.
This Oversight provides an overview of the substantive provisions of the Amendment Bills and also considers the IRD’s clarification regarding the business registration requirement for funds in relation to CRS.
_11zon.jpg?crop=300,495&format=webply&auto=webp)
