A man was sentenced to a community service order of 100 hours today (October 15) at Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts for operating a money service without a valid licence.

     Acting on information, officers of the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) earlier discovered that the man was suspected of operating a money service without a licence on the Internet.

     Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, a person who wishes to operate a remittance and/or money changing service is required to apply for a licence from the C&ED. Any person who operates a money service without a valid licence commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     Members of the public may report any suspected unlicensed money service operation to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

Ends/Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Issued at HKT 14:50

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