Hong Kong’s SFC Fines YSL Senior Management Member for Breaching AML Rules

Monday, 05/07/2021 | 15:59 GMT by Felipe Erazo
  • The SFC had reprimanded the firm in March with a $5 million fine.
Hong Kong’s SFC Fines YSL Senior Management Member for Breaching AML Rules
Hong Kong

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong announced on Monday that it has reprimanded the Chief Executive Officer, Director, Compliance Officer, and Money Laundering Reporting Officer of Yardley Securities Limited (YSL) for breaches of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) ) regulatory rulings. In addition, according to the press release, Raymond Leung Tak Shing was fined $400,000 for failing to comply with AML requirements from Hong Kong’s financial watchdog.

The measure was decided after a series of sanctions imposed by the SFC against YSL on breaching rulings of complying with counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulatory requirements. The wrongdoing allegedly happened after handling third-party fund transfers between February and October 2016, the statement noted.

“In particular, Leung, who was responsible for handling and approving third-party fund transfers at YSL, approved such transfers in two client accounts between February and May 2016 without sufficient scrutiny, nor documenting the inquiries he claimed to have made at the relevant time, despite numerous indicators suggesting that some of them were unusual or suspicious,” the SFC said.

Alleged Negligence

That said, the regulator believes that the responsibility lay on Leung’s back because of its role as a senior management member of the firm. Moreover, the SFC accused him of adopting a 'lax attitude' when handling such third-party transactions and pointed out that the nine-month period when the failure lasted was a responsibility of “Leung’s failure to discharge his duties as a member of YSL’s senior management.”

“As the senior management personnel responsible for overseeing YSL’s AML/CFT systems, he also failed to ensure that YSL had adequate systems in place to mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing during the relevant period and that YSL’s staff were provided with adequate AML/CFT training,” the regulator stated.

In March, the SFC imposed a $5 million fine on Yardley Securities Limited for the same failures.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong announced on Monday that it has reprimanded the Chief Executive Officer, Director, Compliance Officer, and Money Laundering Reporting Officer of Yardley Securities Limited (YSL) for breaches of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) ) regulatory rulings. In addition, according to the press release, Raymond Leung Tak Shing was fined $400,000 for failing to comply with AML requirements from Hong Kong’s financial watchdog.

The measure was decided after a series of sanctions imposed by the SFC against YSL on breaching rulings of complying with counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulatory requirements. The wrongdoing allegedly happened after handling third-party fund transfers between February and October 2016, the statement noted.

“In particular, Leung, who was responsible for handling and approving third-party fund transfers at YSL, approved such transfers in two client accounts between February and May 2016 without sufficient scrutiny, nor documenting the inquiries he claimed to have made at the relevant time, despite numerous indicators suggesting that some of them were unusual or suspicious,” the SFC said.

Alleged Negligence

That said, the regulator believes that the responsibility lay on Leung’s back because of its role as a senior management member of the firm. Moreover, the SFC accused him of adopting a 'lax attitude' when handling such third-party transactions and pointed out that the nine-month period when the failure lasted was a responsibility of “Leung’s failure to discharge his duties as a member of YSL’s senior management.”

“As the senior management personnel responsible for overseeing YSL’s AML/CFT systems, he also failed to ensure that YSL had adequate systems in place to mitigate the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing during the relevant period and that YSL’s staff were provided with adequate AML/CFT training,” the regulator stated.

In March, the SFC imposed a $5 million fine on Yardley Securities Limited for the same failures.

About the Author: Felipe Erazo
Felipe Erazo
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About the Author: Felipe Erazo
Felipe earned a degree in journalism at the University of Chile with the highest honour in the overall ranking, and he also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Communication. In addition, he has been working as a freelance writer and Forex/crypto analyst, with experience gained from several forex broker firms and crypto-related media outlets around the world. He has been involved in the world of online forex trading since 2010 and in the crypto sphere since 2015.
  • 1036 Articles
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