Hong Kong rolls out new measures against fraud and mule accounts

The central bank will roll-out an updated platform for banks to exchange information.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB), and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) have announced new measures to prevent, detect, and disrupt financial crime.

In a statement, the three entities highlighted fraud and associated mule account networks. Hong Kong recorded a total of 44,480 deception cases were reported in 2024, 11.7% higher than a year earlier.

The HKMA plans to roll-out an updated platform for information exchanges between banks later in 2025. Currently, 10 banks are already sharing information on the Financial Intelligence Evaluation Sharing Tool (FINEST) operated by the HKPF.

The HKMA and HKPF said that they will expand the use of Scameter data, with the expectation that banks will combine this with their network analytics capabilities to identify and share data on mule account networks they’ve identified.

The HKMA will work with banks to review system performance through thematic reviews and establish a regular communication platform to strengthen the banking sector’s ability to detect mule account networks.

The central bank said that it has introduced legislative amendments to enable bank-to-bank information sharing for activities that may indicate possible prohibited conduct, such as money laundering and terrorism financing.

In 2024, 10,496 persons were arrested in relation to deception and money laundering offences. Of this, 7,700 persons sold or allowed their accounts to be used for money laundering.