12 July 2002
To: Chief Executive of all authorized insurance institutions
carrying on long term business
Dear Sir/Madam,
United States Executive Order 13224
Non-cooperative Countries and Territories ("NCCTs")
Further to my letters of 10 December 2001 and 11 March 2002 , I wish to advise you that the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") has decided at its June Plenary Meeting to remove the following four jurisdictions from the list of NCCTs :-
- Hungary
- Israel
- Lebanon
- St. Kitts and Nevis
The FATF recognized that these jurisdictions have addressed the identified deficiencies through legal reforms and adoption of concrete steps to implement these reforms. Consequently, the procedures prescribed in Recommendation 21 Note of the FATF Forty Recommendations have been withdrawn in relation to such jurisdictions.
No new NCCTs have been identified and the updated list of the remaining 15 NCCTs is as follows :
- Cook Islands
- Indonesia
- Niue
- Dominica
- Marshall Islands
- Philippines
- Egypt
- Myanmar
- Russia
- Grenada
- Nauru
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Guatemala
- Nigeria
- Ukraine
You are advised to continue to give special attention to businesses and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, in the above NCCTs, in accordance with Recommendation 21 of the FATF Forty Recommendations.
In addition, due to the failure of Nauru to address the deficiencies of its offshore banking sector, the FATF calls on its member to continue to apply counter-measures against this jurisdiction. Accordingly, you should continue to apply the counter-measures against Nauru as set out in my letter of 10 December 2001.
A copy of the Executive Summary of the FATF's June 2002 NCCTs Report is attached at Annex I for easy reference.
The FATF will regularly review the NCCTs list. Changes to the list, if any, will be conveyed to you through similar circular in due course.
United States Executive Order 13224 ("Executive Order")
You may recall that I have provided you with the thirteenth list of names designated under the Executive Order in my letter of 17 May 2002 .
The US Government designated two additional terrorist groups under the Executive Order on 27 June 2002. These two additional entries were treated as an addendum to the thirteenth list mentioned above. A copy of the addendum is attached at Annex II. As the designated lists under the Executive Order may be updated by the US Government from time to time, you are advised to browse the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control under the US Treasury (www.ustreas.gov/ofac) regularly for the latest information.
You should review your records carefully to see whether you have had, or currently have, accounts, transactions or dealing with those names identified in the above addendum. If such review reveals any suspicious accounts, transactions or dealings, you should promptly notify the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit in order to ensure that you fulfil your obligations under section 25A of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance in the usual way.
Should you have any enquiries, please contact Mr. William Hsieh at 2867 4529 or Ms. Carol Hui at 2867 2551.
Yours sincerely,
(Benjamin Tang)
Commissioner of Insurance
Note:
Recommendation 21 : Financial institutions should give special attention to business relations and transactions with persons, including companies and financial institutions, from countries which do not or insufficiently apply these Recommendations. Whenever these transactions have no apparent economic or visible lawful purpose, their background and purpose should, as far as possible, be examined, the findings established in writing, and be available to help supervisors, auditors and law enforcement agencies.
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