Two women were each fined $15,000 today (June 20) and disqualified from holding a Money Service Operator licence for 12 months at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts for operating a money service without a valid licence.
Officers of the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) on patrol earlier discovered a gold and jewellery shop in To Kwa Wan suspected of operating a money service without a licence.
Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, a person who wishes to operate a remittance and/or money changing service is required to apply for a licence from the C&ED. Any person who operates a money service without a valid licence commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for six months.
Members of the public may report any suspected unlicensed money service operation to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
Ends/Thursday, June 20, 2019