The Hong Kong Chapter’s first anniversary event was held in the new KPMG office at Causeway Bay Hong Kong on 8 March 2013 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Over 100 chapter members and guests attended this event to celebrate our chapter’s first anniversary on a sunny and warm Friday. Attendees from different backgrounds who had a common interest in anti-money laundering development in Hong Kong packed the modern conference room of KPMG to meet with seasoned professionals for information sharing, networking and socializing.
The welcome drinks and snacks sponsored by KPMG were a nice touch that provided the attendees an opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new people.
Chris Wilson, our Hong Kong Chapter co-chair, officially kicked off the event and welcomed the 100 plus attendees. He spoke of the enormous value it has been to local financial crime prevention professionals to have had the Hong Kong Chapter set up one-year ago and the importance of having organized this one-year anniversary event.
Chris then introduced the guest speaker Mr. Stewart McGlynn, senior manager of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. We were so privileged to have had Mr. McGlynn as our guest speaker to deliver a presentation on: “One year of the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO) in Hong Kong — Looking back and looking forward.” It has been almost one year since Hong Kong’s new legislation (AMLO) on money laundering and terrorist financing came into effect and Mr. McGlynn provided a comprehensive review on how banks in Hong Kong dealt with their obligations under the AMLO and what challenges they and the HKMA had faced in the last year and would be facing in 2013 and beyond. The presentation was very informative and many practical suggestions were also shared with the audience by Mr. McGlynn.
After the Q&A session of the presentation, Kyran McCarthy, our Hong Kong Chapter co-chair, summed up the event by thanking Mr. McGlynn for his presentation and all attendees for participating in this anniversary event.
To conclude, the event was enjoyed by many and we received positive feedback. The Hong Kong Chapter board of directors would like to thank everyone who attended and we look forward to seeing more events and networking opportunities during the summer of 2013.
In addition to the wonderful one-year anniversary event, the Hong Kong Chapter co-chairs took some time to answer a few questions they received from chapter members.
Does the Hong Kong Chapter meet its objectives?
HK chairs: The ACAMS Hong Kong Chapter was launched in 2012 — the chapters’ mission is to strive for excellence in preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism, by creating a forum in Hong Kong for training and the exchange of ideas within the financial services community.
How many chapter members do we have now?
HK chairs: The chapter is one of the fastest growing ACAMS chapters in the world and currently has over 60 members and growing.
What has been achieved by the Hong Kong Chapter in the past year?
HK chairs: Over the last year the chapter has facilitated a number of very successful events, which have included discussions on significant emerging trends and challenges faced by the compliance community. Subscription to each of the chapter’s events was oversubscribed — this is a great reflection of the relevance of the presentations and the quality of the subject-matter experts.
How many and what kind of events were organized by the chapter in the past year?
HK chairs: We held four major events last year:
- Analysis of the new AMLO (March 2012): Gavin Shiu — Department of Justice
- FATCA (June 2012): Charles Kinsley — KPMG
- Next Generation Sanctions Payment Screening (December 2012): Jun Claravall — Citigroup
- One year of the AMLO in Hong Kong — Looking back and looking forward (March 2013): Stewart McGlynn — Hong Kong Monetary Authority”
What are the 2013 goals for the chapter?
HK chairs: The board is planning at least four key events and networking functions and we will circulate the details of these events shortly. The chapter will also be working closely with ACAMS to identify additional chapter membership benefits to increase our overall membership.
What are the long term goals for the chapter?
HK chairs: Our long term goal is to become a significant voice in the compliance community — particularly when new regulations and/or changes are needed.
To achieve this we will be looking to expand the membership beyond traditional financial services — to include other industries, professionals and look to support the establishment of other chapters in Asia.
Anything else that you would like to share with the chapter members or other potential chapter members?
HK chairs: AML and sanctions laws and regulations are expected to continue to increase across Asia — this creates significant opportunities and challenges for those in the compliance community. Membership to the ACAMS HK Chapter gives you access to a fantastic network of compliance professionals and we encourage non-members to join the chapter and existing members to take full advantage of this network.
Contributed by: Hong Kong advisory board, HKChapter@acams.org
