Category: Asia

Japan’s whistleblower laws set to change

9 April, 2019

Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency is currently considering amendments to expand the scope and increase the effectiveness of Japan's whistleblower protection laws. The proposal is earmarked for implementation later this year. ... Read more

New podcast on conducting internal investigations in Asia

8 April, 2019

Robert Hunt, a partner in the firm's corporate crime and investigations practice, has recorded a podcast for the Corporate Compliance and Ethics Blog on trends in internal investigations in Asia. Whilst investigations used to be largely corruption-related, Rob is seeing… Read more

AML/CFT compliance in Hong Kong: Recent record fine and reminder of latest guidance

1 April, 2019

Authors: William Hallatt, Hannah Cassidy, Natalie Curtis, Valerie Tao and Jennifer Fong. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has recently reprimanded and fined Guosen Securities (HK) Brokerage Company (Guosen) HK$15.2 million for failures in complying with anti-money laundering… Read more

HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS’ 2019 GUIDE TO CORPORATE INVESTIGATIONS IN CHINA

13 February, 2019

Authors: Kyle Wombolt and Anita Phillips Kyle Wombolt, global head of corporate crime and investigations, and Anita Phillips, professional support consultant, have updated their guide to corporate investigations in China. This forms part of GIR’s acclaimed text, The Practitioner’s Guide to… Read more

SFC seeks to halt “rolling bad apples” in their tracks with licensing reforms

11 February, 2019

On 1 February 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced significant changes to its licensing forms and processes (Licensing Reforms). Included in these changes was the long-awaited arrival in Hong Kong of measures intended to stop the “rolling” of… Read more

SINGAPORE PAYMENTS AND FINTECH UPDATE

21 January, 2019

In this bulletin we cover the following key developments in the payments and fintech space: Payment Services Bill: On 14 January 2019, the Payment Services Bill (Bill) was passed by the Singapore Parliament. When it comes into force, the Payment… Read more

Corporate Crime update – December 2018

21 December, 2018

Welcome to the December 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. This month, we would like to wish all of our regular readers a… Read more

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal clarifies “innocent purpose” defence to insider dealing

12 November, 2018

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has recently allowed the Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) appeal against the Market Misconduct Tribunal’s (MMT) findings that two former executives of a listed company (ATML), Mr Charles Yiu Hoi Ying and… Read more

Casting the regulatory net over virtual assets – new regulation in Hong Kong for crypto fund managers, fund distributors and trading platforms

2 November, 2018

Yesterday, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a statement (Statement), together with a press release, setting out its new regulatory framework for virtual assets (also known as cryptocurrencies, crypto-assets and digital tokens). ... Read more

Navigating data privacy laws in multi-jurisdictional investigations

11 October, 2018

Our investigations team has published an article for Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence looking at the impact of data privacy laws on investigations in Asia. This also summarises the potential impact of Europe’s GDPR and what else is on the horizon… Read more

Thailand’s new anti-corruption law targets foreign corporates

17 September, 2018

Thailand is the latest Asian jurisdiction to strengthen its anti-graft legislation. India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and China have all introduced anti-bribery legislation this year. The net effect is an uptick in the local enforcement risk for corporates operating in… Read more

Stock Connect Northbound Investor ID Model set to launch on 17 September 2018

12 September, 2018

Late last month, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced that agreement had been reached with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to implement the investor identification model for Stock Connect Northbound trading (NB Investor ID Model) on 17 September… Read more

HONG KONG’S ANTI-GRAFT COMMISSIONER WARNS OF CORRUPTION ON BELT AND ROAD

1 August, 2018

The head of Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has warned local investors to beware of rampant corruption in some Belt and Road countries. ICAC commissioner Simon Peh Yun-Lu pledged the support of the agency, one of the world's… Read more

MANDATORY REFERENCE CHECKS TO STOP ROLLING BAD APPLES – MAS ISSUES CONSULTATION PAPER ON PROPOSED REQUIREMENTS

18 July, 2018

On 6 July 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a Consultation Paper which, among other things, proposes requirements for Financial Institutions (FIs) to conduct and respond to reference checks on representatives (Reference Check Consultation Paper). Submissions on the… Read more

Corporate Crime update – June 2018

10 July, 2018

Welcome to the June 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. For the full update on each jurisdiction, please click on the name of the jurisdiction below. Below… Read more

CHINA’S NEW LIBERALISATION POLICIES FOR THE FINANCIAL SECTOR

5 June, 2018

China is advancing its policies to open up its markets and attract more foreign investment. This year, the financial sector is one of the focus areas for liberalisation. On 11 April 2018, Yi Gang, the governor of People’s Bank of… Read more

AML/CFT COMPLIANCE A KEY FOCUS OF RECENT SUPERVISORY INSPECTIONS BY THE HONG KONG INSURANCE AUTHORITY

5 June, 2018

Late last week, the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) published a circular setting out its key findings from anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) onsite inspections of authorised insurers carrying on long term business. ... Read more

HONG KONG SFC PROVIDES UPDATE ON MIC REGIME AND ANNOUNCES THEMATIC REVIEW OF LICENSED CORPORATIONS’ GOVERNANCE

18 May, 2018

In the latest issue of its SFC Compliance Bulletin: Intermediaries published on 16 May 2018, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) provides an update on the implementation of the Manager-in-Charge (MIC) regime and announces that it will conduct a thematic… Read more

MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING RISKS FACING HONG KONG’S FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND PAYMENT SYSTEMS

14 May, 2018

The Hong Kong government has published a report detailing the money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk assessment of Hong Kong. This follows the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that jurisdictions identify and assess their ML/TF… Read more

REGULATION IN THE AGE OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES

8 May, 2018

Blockchain technology is ushering in a new epoch of monetary oversight, creating opportunities and challenges for regulators in a world disrupted by the advent of cryptocurrencies As of 3 May 2018, according to CoinMarketCap, the current market capitalisation of Bitcoin… Read more

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT ISSUES IMPORTANT MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING RISK ASSESSMENT

4 May, 2018

The government has this week published a comprehensive report detailing Hong Kong's Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (ML/TF) Risk Assessment. This is the product of a year's consultation, data analysis and stakeholder engagement by the government. ... Read more

Corporate Crime update – April 2018

3 May, 2018

Welcome to the April 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. Below we provide a brief overview of… Read more

LIGHTER TOUCH, OR MORE OF THE SAME? MAS ISSUES CONSULTATION PAPER ON PROPOSED GUIDELINES ON INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONDUCT

3 May, 2018

On 26 April 2018, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a Consultation Paper on its proposed, and much-anticipated, senior manager accountability regime in the form of ‘Guidelines on Individual Accountability and Conduct’ (Guidelines). The Consultation Paper comes soon after… Read more

NEW BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REGIME IN INDONESIA POSES COMPLIANCE RISKS FOR CORPORATES

30 April, 2018

Effective from 5 March 2018, all corporations in Indonesia are required to disclose at least one person as their beneficial owner upon registering for business, pursuant to the Presidential Regulation (Perpres 13/2018) signed by President Joko Widodo on 1 March… Read more

MALAYSIA INTRODUCES NEW LAW TO COMBAT CORPORATE BRIBERY

18 April, 2018

The Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act 2018 was passed by the Senate of Malaysia on 5 April 2018. One of the major amendments is the introduction of section 17A. Modelled on the UK Bribery Act's corporate offence, it penalises commercial organisations… Read more

HKMA CONDUCTS THEMATIC REVIEW OF AUTHORISED INSTITUTIONS’ SANCTIONS SCREENING SYSTEMS AND PLANS REVIEW OF SVF LICENSEES

16 April, 2018

Late last week, the HKMA published a circular to provide feedback to authorised institutions (AIs) on its thematic review of their sanctions screening systems, which took place in the past few months. While the review indicated that the screening systems examined were in… Read more

Corporate Crime update – March 2018

5 April, 2018

Welcome to the March 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. For the full update on each jurisdiction,… Read more

INSPIRED BY THE UK REGIME, SINGAPORE INTRODUCES DEFERRED PROSECUTION AGREEMENTS FOR CORRUPTION AND MONEY LAUNDERING OFFENCES

27 March, 2018

The Singapore parliament has enacted a framework for Deferred Prosecution Agreements. This will apply to corporate offences including corruption, money laundering and the receipt of stolen property. DPAs will need to be supervised by a judge and confirmed by the… Read more

Singapore’s first cryptocurrency dispute to go to trial

29 January, 2018

There has been a significant increase in interest in, and the use of, cryptocurrencies in recent times. Cryptocurrencies are essentially de-centralised virtual currencies, which are not linked to any particular country, nor regulated by any central bank or monetary authority.… Read more

SINGAPORE ENTITY TO PAY SIGNIFICANT PENALTY FOR BRIBERY ABROAD

23 January, 2018

Just before Christmas Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd, a Singapore incorporated company, entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the United States Department of Justice. The DPA provides for payment of penalties of over US$400 million. The penalties are… Read more

NEW PENAL CODE HERALDS SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION TO VIETNAM’S ANTI-CORRUPTION REGIME

2 January, 2018

A comprehensive New Penal Code came into force in Vietnam on 1 January 2018. This covers a wide range of crimes, including bribery and related offences. The New Penal Code substantially expands the range of offences, including regulating bribery within… Read more

Hong Kong corporate crime team publishes article addressing the thorny issue of privilege in Asia investigations

15 November, 2017

Given the variety of civil law and common law systems across Asia, and the fact that corporate investigations in the region almost always involve multi-jurisdictional elements, protecting privilege is a complex topic. With the differing approaches to privilege adopted both… Read more

Increased focus on board and senior management in Hong Kong as HKMA issues enhanced guidance on corporate governance

17 October, 2017

On 6 October 2017, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued a circular to announce the publication of two revised Supervisory Policy Manual (SPM) modules, namely CG-1 “Corporate Governance of Locally Incorporated Authorised Institutions” and IC-1 “Risk Management Framework”. Revisions… Read more

Regulators around the world become more vocal regarding the potential risks associated with ICOs

27 September, 2017

The rapid rise of initial coin offerings (ICOs) this year has prompted heightened scrutiny by regulators globally. On 4 September 2017, seven major regulators governing the finance and technology sectors in China (collectively, the Chinese Regulators), jointly published an announcement… Read more

MAS CLARIFIES STANCE ON DIGITAL TOKENS

21 August, 2017

On 1 August 2017, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) clarified through a media release that an offer or issue of digital tokens would be regulated if these tokens constitute products which are regulated under the Securities and Futures Act… Read more

Singapore: consultation on regulations for the provision of digital advisory services

3 August, 2017

In line with its recognition of the rapid expansion of, and new products within, the FinTech sphere, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a consultation paper on 7 June 2017 on the provision of digital advisory services (i.e. advice… Read more

China Cyber Security Law: Latest Developments

3 July, 2017

China's Cyber Security Law (CSL) came into force on 1 June 2017. To read the summary of the key systems required to be implemented and their current status prepared by our teams in China and Sydney, click here. The bulletin… Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills leads ASIFMA member working group to formulate Best Practices for Effective Development of Fintech

12 June, 2017

The Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) released on Friday afternoon its guide, Best Practices for Effective Development of Fintech. Its press release can be accessed here. The guide was developed by a member working group at ASIFMA led by… Read more

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