Exclusive | Activists ‘shocked’ after Hong Kong police chiefs block alert to banks on human trafficking-linked transactions

The 24-page document, prepared by Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce, was designed to sharpen ability of financial firms to spot suspicious transactions

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A spokesman for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority says there is a growing awareness in the banking sector in Hong Kong of the money laundering threats arising from human trafficking. Photo: Roy Issa

Published: 8:00am, 11 Oct 2018Updated: 1:38pm, 11 Oct 2018

Hong Kong’s determination to tackle money laundering linked to human trafficking has been called into question after it emerged that police chiefs blocked an alert – prepared by a specialist law enforcement unit – warning banks in the city to be aware of the problem.

Anti-human trafficking campaigners expressed shock at news of the suppressed alert. That coincided with the publication of a report by the city’s Ombudsman which found a complaint that police were unreasonably withholding data on dirty money transactions linked to human trafficking was “unsubstantiated”.

The 24-page alert – titled “Combating Human Trafficking in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Region” – was prepared by the recently formed Fraud and Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (FMLIT) and was designed to sharpen the ability of financial institutions to spot and report suspicious transactions linked to the illicit trade in people.

According to The Global Slavery Index, on any given day in 2016 an estimated 25 million men, women and children were living in modern slavery in Asia and the Pacific. Photo: Shutterstock

Sources told the Post the alert was cleared for distribution by both the Security Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority late last year but blocked by police top brass, who feared it could “lead to Hong Kong being labelled as a hub for human trafficking”.

The task force – a police-led joint effort involving the Monetary Authority and major banks and financial institutions in the city – was set up in May last year. A review is under way to determine whether it should become a permanent feature of Hong Kong’s anti-money-laundering regime.