Hong Kong's AIA Group to pay $3 million penalty for anti-money laundering lapses
FILE PHOTO: The logo of AIA is displayed at its office in Hong Kong, China February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
:Insurance company AIA Group has been ordered to pay a penalty of HK$23 million ($2.9 million) by the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong due to lapses in anti-money laundering procedures, the regulator said on Friday.
The Insurance Authority found technical issues in the way the company's Hong Kong branch was using its anti-money laundering system during an inspection of its businesses conducted between March 2016 and October 2022.
Due to the issues, the system did not pick up certain customers who were politically exposed, leading to delays in establishing their source of wealth, the regulator said.
"It was identified that improvements were needed in the monitoring processes for suspicious transactions in the company’s Hong Kong branch," the Insurance Authority said in a statement.
AIA has, however, implemented steps to address the issues flagged by the Insurance Authority, including further investments to enhance and upgrade its systems and associated processes, the regulator said.
The conclusions were technical in nature with no findings of money laundering activities or inappropriate onboarding of any customers. All identified issues have been fully remediated," AIA said in a statement to Reuters.
($1 = 7.8113 Hong Kong dollars)
