Bribery, Fraud & Corruption
Corruption occurs when an individual abuses his/her authority for personal gain at the expense of other people. Corruption erodes fairness and the rule of law, and in some cases, puts lives and property at risk.
At ONC Lawyers, our regulatory & compliance team works closely with our corporate and commercial team to provide the following services:
- advising and representing clients in relation to ICAC investigations, potential criminal liabilities and criminal prosecutions;
- advising clients on potential liability and obligations arising from AML/CFT related legislations, including the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap.201);
- advising companies and individuals of the best practice in respect of anti-bribery and corruption; and
- advising clients in relation to the establishment of anti-bribery and corruption policies and procedures.
If you would like to know more about our regulatory & compliance practice or how we can help you or your business, please contact us at (852) 2810 1212 or at regcom@onc.hk.
Recommended Posts
The CFA clarifies the relationship between “bribery” and “misconduct in public office” in Donald Tsang’s case
In our previous newsletter “Donald Tsang’s Conviction Sheds Light on the Offence of Misconduct in Public Office”, we discussed the conviction in February 2017 of Mr Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong, of the charge of misconduct in public office. Tsang first appealed to the Court of Appeal against his conviction and sentence, which allowed the appeal against sentence and reduced the sentence from 20 months to 12 months of imprisonment (a term of which has now been served). Tsang further appealed to the Court of Final Appeal, which recently quashed the conviction against Tsang for misconduct in public office, bringing to an end the prolonged legal battle for Tsang.
The Role of Company Secretaries and Directors in Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
Millions of dollars come into and go out of Hong Kong every day, legitimate or not, as Hong Kong is an international financial centre with no exchange controls. In the last few years, huge sums have flown out from countries around Hong Kong to or via Hong Kong for tax, funds control or investment reasons. This creates issues and risks of money laundering. There have also been numerous business email scams, or cases of impersonation of C-suite officers, where companies from overseas were deceived into wiring large sums of money to bank accounts in Hong Kong. Such wire transfers and movement of funds via “money mules” are also money laundering as the funds are the proceeds of crime.
As a member of the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), an independent inter-governmental body that promotes policies against money laundering and terrorist financing, Hong Kong is obliged to implement the anti-money laundering (“AML”) requirements promulgated by the FATF.
Failing to comply with due diligence and know-your-client requirements
Introduction
The recent decision handed down by the Hong Kong Court of First Instance, Arrow ECS Norway AS v M Yang Trading Ltd and Others [2018] HKCU 1479, illustrates situations where a financial institution may not rely on the change of position defence for breaches in anti-money laundering and know your client legislation.
