Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations apply to more than just financial institutions. If your company provides accounting, legal or other professional services you may be subject to strict new rules.

On March 1^st, 2018 Hong Kong implemented enhanced customer due diligence and record-keeping obligations in light of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance. Designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) are now subject to the same customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements as financial institutions. DNFBPs include accounting professionals, estate agents, legal professionals and company service providers.

Firms engaged in these businesses must conduct client due diligence measures before engaging with a new client, continuously monitor those relationships as long as they exist, and then maintain extensive records for five years after the relationship has terminated. These new rules are challenging how DNFBPs operate, and are prompting participants to adopt new data-driven risk management tools and practices, as non-compliance comes at a significant cost, including supervisory or criminal sanctions and reputational risk.

World-Check Risk Intelligence is a global risk intelligence database of highly structured, de-duplicated data that includes more than 600 sanction, watch, regulatory, and law enforcement lists. It provides services in multiple languages, including Chinese, and makes record keeping easier.