25 November 2004

Dear Sir / Madam,

Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories & List of names for suspicious account reporting

I am writing to inform you of the latest developments in the following areas:

The FATF, at its October 2004 Plenary meeting held in Paris, decided to withdraw the application of counter-measures against Myanmar and Nauru, as the two countries have now introduced new measures to remedy anti-money laundering deficiencies. However, both countries will remain on the list of NCCTs until they address remaining deficiencies and adequately implement the necessary laws. The current NCCT list includes Cook Islands, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nigeria and the Philippines. The related press release issued by the FATF can be found on its homepage (http://www1.oecd.org/fatf/). You are reminded to take appropriate action to reflect this change in the account opening and monitoring procedures.

Further to my letter of 17 September 2004, the US Government has recently added a number of individuals and entities to the list issued under the US Executive Order 13224. The relevant information can be found on the website
of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury (http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/eotffc/ofac/sanctions/terrorism.html) under the headings of "Names of those designated on 13 October 2004" and "Name of entity designated on 15 October 2004".

Meanwhile, an updated list of terrorists and terrorist associates designated by the United Nations Security Council Committee was published in the Gazette (G.N. 7329 and 7330) on 19 November 2004 under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance and the United Nations Sanctions (Afghanistan) Regulation. Compared with the list attached to my previous letter of 6 August 2004, the following individual and entities associated with the Al-Qaida organisation have been added to List C and List D respectively:

List C

List D

The updated list is available on the Government's website (http://www.info.gov.hk/eindex.htm). A copy of the list in MS Word format is also attached to facilitate update of your electronic database.

You are reminded to check the designated names against your records and report any transactions or relationships you have or have had with the named individuals or entities to the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit and the HKMA. You are also reminded to browse the above websites regularly for the latest information.

Yours faithfully,

William A. Ryback
Deputy Chief Executive