The Hong Kong Monetary Authority imposed total penalties of HKD 16.2 million on three banking entities on 22 July 2025 for contraventions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, citing failures in transaction monitoring systems across all three institutions.
Indian Overseas Bank Hong Kong was fined HKD 8.5 million, the largest of the three penalties. In addition to the financial sanction, the HKMA reprimanded the bank and ordered the bank to conduct a look-back review of past transactions to identify any activity that may have been missed as a result of the monitoring system failures, and to implement a remedial plan addressing the deficiencies identified during the investigation.
BANK OF COMMUNICATIONS DUAL ENTITY ACTION
The HKMA's enforcement action against the Bank of Communications group in Hong Kong involved two separate legal entities: Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited, fined HKD 4 million, and Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Branch, fined HKD 3.7 million. Both entities were cited for omissions to load certain types of transactions into the transaction monitoring system the two banks share.
COOPERATION AND PRIOR RECORD NOTED
The HKMA noted that all three institutions cooperated with the authority during the investigations and enforcement proceedings and that none of them had prior disciplinary records under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance.