Hong Kong's financial regulator has put a number of institutions, including at least one bank, under the AML spotlight, using tough laws for the first time.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which regulates financial services in the jurisdiction, is investigating a number of institutions, including at least one bank, for possible criminal breaches of the city's anti-money-laundering laws, according to the South China Morning Post.

The report said the probes are the first to be made since the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance, better known as AMLO, was enacted more than two years ago.
The HKMA confirmed that investigations were in progress, but declined to give any details on the sums involved, the names of the institutions or the alleged breaches of the law, the report said.

Investigations are only launched, however, if routine regulatory audits of anti-money- laundering controls reveal potential breaches.

Stewart McGlynn, acting head of the authority's anti-money-laundering and financial crime risk division, said the body would "consider using the full range of powers afforded to it under both the Banking Ordinance and the AMLO, including disciplinary and prosecution action" in the event that breaches of the law were discovered.

The fight against AML offences has reached new heights in recent weeks; BNP Paribas, the French bank, faces a $10 billion penalty in the US for breaches of sanctions related to Iran and other nations; the issue has hit Franco-US relations.