In view of the latest epidemic situation and extension of special work arrangements for government employees, the Government Records Service (GRS) announced today (December 15) that from December 16 to 23, the Search Room of the Pub… read more
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 is 101.4 (up 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more
​The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) appealed today (December 15) to registered electors who receive enquiry or inquiry letters issued by the REO to reply as soon as possible by the specified deadline via post, fax or email in accordance with the letter’s instructions, so as to maintain their voter registration status and to vote at the Legislative Council General Election (LCGE) to be held in the third quarter of next year and at subsequent public elections.
The 2021 Voter Registration (VR) cycle will last until May 2, 2021. To enhance the accuracy and completeness of the particulars of VR, the REO conducts various checking measures in each VR cycle, including sampling checks on registered electors; cross-matching exercises with other government departments on the registered particulars of electors; follow-up inquiries on undelivered poll cards arising from elections; cross-matching of registered residential addresses of electors with the Housing Department, Hong Kong Housing Society and Home Affairs Department; checks on residential addresses with multiple electors or multiple surnames of electors; checks on addresses with incomplete information or suspected non-residential addresses; as well as checks on electors registered at buildings already demolished or vacant buildings to be demolished.
The REO will issue inquiry letters to electors who are included in the statutory inquiry asking them to confirm or update their registered addresses by the statutory deadline on May 2, 2021. If the REO does not receive a valid reply from an elector under inquiry by the deadline, the name of the elector will be included in the omissions list to be published on or before June 1, 2021. Electors included in the omissions list have to respond to the reminding letter issued by the REO or lodge a claim before the statutory deadline of June 25, 2021. Upon approval by the Revising Officer, they can reinstate their VR status, be included in the final register of electors to be published in July 2021 and be able to vote at the LCGE to be held in the third quarter of next year.
A prominent message, “Immediate action required. Your voting right is at stake”, is printed on the envelopes of all inquiry letters to remind the electors that the letters are important and should be opened and replied to as soon as possible. Electors who have enquiries on the letters received from the REO may call the REO hotline at 2891 1001. Meanwhile, the frequently asked questions on checking measures of VR have also been uploaded to the homepage of the REO (www.reo.gov.hk). read more
Hong Kong Customs mounted an operation codenamed “Wind Catch 2020” on December 9 and smashed a suspected money laundering syndicate in which a money service operator (MSO) and an offshore company made suspicious remittance of $880 million. Four persons were arrested during the operation, with the licensed MSO’s bank balance of about $16 million frozen and its licence suspended.
Customs officers first identified a suspected money laundering syndicate in the middle of this year. Subsequent to in-depth investigations, more than 40 officers raided four residential premises in Sau Mau Ping, North Point, Shau Kei Wan and Tai Po on December 9. An office in Central and a licensed MSO in Wan Chai were also searched on the same day. Three men and one woman were arrested for contravention of Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO) and conspiring to “deal with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence” (commonly known as money laundering).
The persons arrested, aged between 42 and 61, were the MSO’s three employees and the offshore company’s director.
Initial investigation revealed that the three employees were suspected of conspiring with the offshore company by deliberately not carrying out customer due diligence checks over remittance transactions for massive money laundering purposes between May 2018 and April 2019. A total of about $880 million of suspected crime proceeds were processed.
Computers, mobile phones, banking security authentication tokens and a lot of documents, including business registration records, bank statements, tax returns and chequebooks, were seized at the locations searched.
Investigation is ongoing. All arrested persons have been released on bail and further arrests are not ruled out.
Under the OSCO, a person commits an offence if he or she deals with any property knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that such property in whole or in part directly or indirectly represents any person’s proceeds of an indictable offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and imprisonment for 14 years while the crime proceeds are also subject to confiscation.
Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), licensed MSOs must abide by the regulations under the AMLO. A person who contravenes the regulations is liable on conviction to a maximum penalty of a $1 million fine and seven years’ imprisonment.
Members of the public may report any suspected money laundering activities or violation of the AMLO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
The following is issued on behalf of the Town Planning Board:
In view of the extension of special work arrangements for government employees, the Town Planning Board (TPB) announced today (December 15) that the Secretariat will continue to provide essential public services only until further notice.
Members of the public can continue to place their submissions made under the Town Planning Ordinance in the drop-in box located at the TPB Secretariat’s reception counter on 15/F, North Point Government Offices, during office hours (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday), while other counter services will be temporarily suspended. Members of the public can make enquiries through the telephone hotline (2231 4810) or email (tpbpd@pland.gov.hk), and can visit the TPB’s website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb) for statutory planning information.
Posting of site notices for planning applications will also be suspended during this period. However, notices of planning applications will continue to be published in the prescribed newspapers and posted on the TPB’s website. Members of the public are invited to pay attention to such notices in the newspapers and on the TPB website.
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