I advised
you in my letter of 22
October 2002 the intention of the Financial
Action Task Force ("FATF") to
apply counter-measures on Nigeria and Ukraine,
both being countries on the list of Non-cooperative
Countries and Territories ("NCCTs").
Nigeria
On 14 December 2002, the
Nigerian Government passed a new law "Money
Laundering Act (Amendment) Act 2002".
The FATF has conducted an assessment of
the new legislation in Nigeria and decided
not to apply counter-measures to Nigeria
at this stage but that the situation in
this country should be closely reviewed
in February 2003. The country nevertheless
remains on the NCCT list. I will keep you
informed of any further development on this
subject in due course.
Ukraine
The Ukrainian Government
enacted a "Law of Ukraine on Prevention
and Counteraction of the Legalization (Laundering)
of the Proceeds from Crime" on 28 November
2002. However, this new legislation was
found to have several deficiencies and did
not address the major money laundering problems
in Ukraine.
On 20 December 2002, the
FATF called on its members to apply counter-measures
to Ukraine with immediate effect. Such counter-measures,
as applicable in the Hong Kong context,
are detailed in paragraphs 7 to 11 of the
jurisdiction-specific advisory which is
attached at
Annex I . Hong Kong, being one of the
FATF members, is obliged to follow the decision
of the FATF and you are requested to implement
counter-measures to Ukraine. You may wish
to refer to my letter of 10
December 2001 advising on the application
of counter-measures to Nauru. In this regard,
the same set of counter-measures described
herein should apply to Nauru and Ukraine
from now on.
The FATF will further review
the NCCT list. Changes to the list, if any,
will be conveyed to you through similar
advisory in due course.
A copy of the FATF press
release of 20 December 2002 in respect of
Nigeria and Ukraine is attached at Annex
II for your reference.
Should you have any enquiries,
please contact Mr. William Hsieh at 2867
4529 or Ms. Carol Hui at 2867 2551.
