By LIANG TAO, CRI Correspondent
 
Hong Kong Monetary Authority Executive Director Simon Topping says the setting up of a banking industry working group on countering money laundering and terrorist financing issues shows Hong Kong's strong determination to guard against the abuse of its banking system.

In his latest Viewpoint article published on the authority's website,  Topping said given the rising concern about international terrorist activities, including the possible proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the focus on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing has shifted towards terrorist financing.

The techniques that money launderers and terrorists use to disguise their financial activities have also become more innovative and sophisticated, making it necessary for authorities and financial institutions to bolster their awareness of new methods for laundering money and upgrade their systems and controls.

To help deal with the difficult anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing issues from a practical perspective, and reflect business needs, the authority has recently co-ordinated the establishment of an industry working group, which includes representatives of 20 authorized institutions.

The group has met twice, and three user sub-groups have been formed to share experiences and consider the way forward in areas like the so-called "politically exposed people", terrorist financing, transaction monitoring systems and private banking issues.