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Given the increasingly sophisticated modus operandi of syndicates inducing citizens to sell or lend their accounts for money laundering, the Financial Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (FIIB) launched an anti-money laundering (AML) campaign, the Project AccFencers 2022, between July 18 and August 19 to raise AML awareness among the public and different sectors of the society through a series of promotion campaigns, outreach education and enforcement actions.
FIIB invited an artiste Ms Cinda Hui, to make a series of promotional videos and posters to remind the public on the concept of “don’t sell, don’t lend and don’t rent your bank accounts to criminal syndicates for money laundering”. The promotional videos were played on the mega screens in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok and on the promotional truck, as well as on various social media platforms.
In addition, FIIB has prepared a multitude of promotional materials such as leaflets, posters and banners to be displayed at hundreds of platforms and public venues, namely magazines, markets, parks, bus shelters, bus bodies and sport centres. The digital promotion materials were displayed on the Force’s Facebook page, webpages of banks and online forums. In cooperation with the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) between July 18 and 26, FIIB sent its promotional truck travelling around Hong Kong to disseminate AML messages.
On the other hand, FIIB values stakeholder engagement and public education. Seminars were conducted for financial institutions and non-financial businesses, students, the elderly and the private sectors to explain money laundering trends and raise their awareness.
On enforcement actions, FIIB has mounted several arrest operations codenamed WISEWORD jointly with various formations at Headquarters and Regional levels, combatting successfully several criminal syndicates which laundered money with stooge accounts. For the Force’s internal training, FIIB has produced an e-training package to enhance officers’ knowledge on money-laundering.
FIIB will keep focusing on combatting money laundering and terrorist financing to curb such illicit activities so that Hong Kong’s reputation and position as an international financial centre can be maintained.
