arthur yuen : regional approaches to global aml challenges speech by mr arthur yuen, deputy chief executive of the hong kong monetary authority, at the association of certified anti - money laundering specialists ( acams ) 10th annual aml & amp ; financial crime conference, hong kong, 23 april 2018. * * * good morning ladies and gentlemen, 1. i am very honoured to be here today addressing such a distinguished audience. i would like to in particular thank acams for your kind invitation, and for arranging this great event in hong kong. the topic for this event is very dear to my heart, since i have been closely involved in work that aims at enhancing the framework for countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism for almost 20 years as a banking supervisor. indeed, tackling ml / tf is a core supervisory priority for the hong kong monetary authority ( hkma ) in recent years, and so i am very delighted to have this opportunity to open the conference and meet so many professionals here to discuss how best to respond to some of the challenges posed to us by those who seek to abuse our highly efficient and international banking and payment systems. 2. from my perspective as a banking supervisor, everyone here - irrespective of your sector, experience and the jurisdiction that you work in - we all have an important role in combatting financial crime. governments need your support in so many ways - in implementing relevant policies, in submitting suspicious transaction reports and sharing intelligence, to name just a few. and these are all important elements in achieving our objectives. 3. and talking about objectives, this is definitely something worth reiterating and reinforcing at the start of this conference. this is because there ’ s always a danger, when we ’ re up to our neck in discussions around compliance, policy developments and technology, so much so that we may tend to forget what aml is all about basically. so let ’ s be clear about this upfront. ml and tf are crimes. and they facilitate other crimes - fraud, tax evasion, trafficking in drugs and people, and of course, terrorism. these crimes have economic and social effects that are far - reaching and often very nasty ones. they also generate financial flows – in fact significant financial flows - that divert resources away from economically and socially - productive uses. but more importantly, people get hurt. victims, who are often from the more vulnerable segments in our societies, have their life savings stolen by fraudsters,

different supermarkets, and their value. 11. with the data, the banks understood chu kee ’ s latest operating conditions better and made credit decisions speedily. needless to say, before the data was used and shared, prior consent from chu kee was obtained. in the end, mr chu secured a substantial loan at a competitive interest rate, and was very pleased with the hassle - free experience. 12. now, what if i tell you that the above is based on a true story? 2 yes, during the technical exploration stage, cdi has already, in real life, helped smes in hong kong take more control of their own digital footprint, and use their own data to improve their access to financial services. importers of chilled food and sneakers, and manufacturers of phone accessories have already enjoyed the benefits of cdi firsthand. as more and more banks and data providers join cdi, we expect that an increasing number of smes will benefit from the platform. 13. for cdi to reach its full potential and successfully connect the digital islands, your active participation is crucial. cdi is definitely a team sport, and we all have a role to play as members of team hong kong. 14. the hkma, as a regulator, will facilitate a conducive environment, and we are doing that by building the infrastructure and offering guidance. to banks, we urge you to embrace fintech, and join the cdi platform. to data providers, we invite you to contribute meaningful data, such as logistics data and procurement data between buyers and suppliers, to enrich the types of data available. to sme owners, we encourage you to contact your bank and understand more about cdi. together, we can take hong kong ’ s data ecosystem to new heights, and ultimately contribute to bridging the global trade financing gap. 15. the benefits of a more digitally integrated trade finance system are plentiful, that much is certain ; and the hkma strives to help bring about an enhanced system in collaboration with different stakeholders. we look forward to working with the international chamber of commerce ( icc ) and the fung group in this regard so that the needs of the underserved segments can be better catered for. 16. before i close, i ’ d like to take this opportunity to offer you a glimpse of the hkma ’ s vision of digitalising cross - border trade. for those of you who have been following our cbdc developments