SBI fined $1m for violating norms in HK

New Delhi, July 31

The Hong Kong central bank today penalised SBI’s Hong Kong branch $1 million (Hong Kong dollar 7.5 million) for alleged violation of local anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing laws.

In its first action since the Hong Kong’s Anti Money-Laundering Ordinance came into force in 2012, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said the SBI branch between April 2012 and November 2013 failed to carry out customer due diligence before establishing business relationships.

The branch also failed to monitor business relationships with its customers and verify whether its customers were politically exposed persons, the HKMA said.

The HKMA "reprimanded" SBI's Hong Kong branch for the contraventions and ordered it to submit a report by an independent external advisor on sufficiency of remedial plan and effectiveness of its implementation. PTI