Hong Kong’s banking regulator fined a local unit of CITIC over violations of anti-money laundering rules.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has imposed a penalty of HK$4 million ($510,000) against China CITIC Bank International for contraventions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), according to a statement.

Based on investigations, CITIC failed to generate system alerts on suspicious transactions between November 2015 and July 2018 due to «incorrect implementation of detection rules and core model rules in its automated transaction monitoring system». It also failed to examine the background and purpose of the transactions of some customers during this period.

«The integrity and robustness of a transaction monitoring system is vital in the ongoing fight against financial crime. It is important for banks to ensure that their transaction monitoring system is properly configured and operates effectively,» said Raymond Chan, HKMA executive director (enforcement and AML).

Sources: finews