AIA Group was subject to a record fine of HK$23 million (S$3.9 million) by Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority for anti-money laundering oversight, as the city’s regulators steps up scrutiny of the industry.
An on-site inspection by the regulator found “technical issues” with AIA’s anti-money laundering system and associated algorithm, the Insurance Authority said in an e-mailed statement on Aug 2. The inspection was related to business between the period of March 2016 to October 2022, it said.
The lapses resulted in some customers who were “politically exposed persons” failing to be picked up during the screening process. That led to delays in identifying their source of money and wealth, it added. However, no policies were sold to clients who should not have been onboarded, the regulator said.
A politically exposed person is an individual who holds or held prominent positions that can be abused for the purpose of laundering illicit funds or other predicate offenses such as corruption or bribery, according to the definitions by the Financial Action Task Force.
The fine is the largest since the watchdog took over regulation of insurance companies since 2017. The city’s regulators have escalated inspections over the industry amid a business boom bolstered by mainland customers.
Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority raided the offices of a licensed insurance broker and a referral company, regulators said in April. The broker was suspected of using unlicensed referrers to help advise and sell policies to mainland Chinese.
AIA’s shares fell about 2.5 per cent on Aug 2 in Hong Kong, in line with the Hang Seng Index.
AIA’s Hong Kong unit also failed to subject certain clients flagged by the system as “high risk” to “enhanced due diligence in a timely manner,” the regulator said.
AIA was collaborative with the inspections that began in 2021, the company said in an emailed statement. “The conclusions were technical in nature with no findings of money laundering activities or inappropriate onboarding of any customers,” it added.
Authorities have ordered the company to submit a report prepared by an independent advisor tallying the “ongoing effectiveness” of remedial actions. BLOOMBERG
