Peer Advisors on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Financial Investigation (FI) from FI Narcotics Bureau (NB) were invited to the 3rd and 4th "Knowledge Cafe" to share their experiences in fighting money laundering. The "Cafe" were held on August 4 and September 2, attracting an attendance of 115.

During the 3rd "Cafe", Chief Inspector John Tse and Senior Inspector Edwin Chow of the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit (JFIU) gave presentations on the AML work of the Force.

"Having been an active member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since 1990, Hong Kong has built up a robust and comprehensive AML regime through legislation, law enforcement, financial regulation, international co-operation, publicity and education. The JFIU plays a pivotal role in the regime," said CIP Tse.

He added: "The ever-growing global attention to anti-money laundering has made financial intelligence units (FIUs) increasingly essential for international efforts against money laundering. Nowadays, nearly every country has its FIU and there are over 130 FIUs worldwide. Since its formation in late 80s, the JFIU has evolved from a small intelligence team consisting of four officers into a policy and operative unit and engaging in not only intelligence analysis, but also strategic risk assessment, international intelligence exchange, policy and legislation formulation, and outreach to the private sector. The JFIU strives to work in collaboration with relevant stakeholders to strengthen the regime."

SIP Chow spoke of the functions of the JFIU in handling suspicious transaction reports from financial institutions, providing training to local and overseas law enforcement agencies, FIU officers and financial regulators, as well as exchanging intelligence with overseas counterparts.

Following the presentations, Superintendent FI NB Nelson Cheng and Knowledge Management (KM) Champion Eric Cheng facilitated a lively discussion amongst the participants on the challenges of the Force's AML and FI work.

During the 4th "Cafe", Senior Inspector Raymond Lam of FI NB (OSCO Team) shared his experience in using financial investigation to combat serious crimes. He noted: "It is now internationally recognised that the law enforcement approach to serious crimes should be holistic, which means not only targetting the predicate crimes but also the associated money laundering activities and criminal proceeds. Nowadays, the masterminds of criminal syndicates insulate themselves from the crimes they organise or finance. However, no matter how well they distance themselves from the crimes they organise, the proceeds of the crimes will eventually end up on them. Financial investigation has therefore become an effective tool to expose them, prosecute them for both the predicate and money laundering offences, and to confiscate their ill-gotten gains."

To meet the present commitments and future challenges, FI NB will further expand by 26 officers this year. Therefore, FI is looking for officers with the right calibre who are willing to take on the challenge of anti-money laundering work. SP Cheng appealed to the participants to submit applications when vacancies arise from the expansion of FI NB.

The presentations on AML and FI are followed by a lively discussion on the challenges facing the Force