HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL-8 March 1989
香港立法局 一九八九年三月八日
39
assumptions under clause 4, namely, that the whole of his property at the time of his conviction, together with any property which has passed through his hands during the previous six years, represents the proceeds of drug trafficking, and that all his expenditure in that six year period was paid out of such proceeds.
As regards the enforcement of confiscation orders, the courts will have the power under clauses 10 and 11 to freeze a person's property by imposing restraint and charging orders, and under clause 8 to fix an additional term of imprisonment to be served by the offender in the event that he fails to comply with such orders.
In attempts to retain their illegal profits, drug traffickers often seek to disguise their assets by what is commonly known as the "laundering" of money. To counteract this, clause 25 will create a new offence of assisting a person to retain or conceal proceeds from drug trafficking.
The offence will carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment. However, no offence will be committed if a transaction which is believed or suspected to have this purpose is reported immediately to the authorities.
Banks and other financial institutions in particular will be affected by this obligation to report knowledge or suspicion of drug trafficking. To assist them to comply with these new requirements, the Hong Kong Association of Banks and the Hong Kong Deposit-taking Companies Association have drawn up model guidelines for their members. These will ensure that proper internal procedures are in place for individual staff to report suspicious transactions to a designated member of the management, who will in turn report such transactions to the authorities where he shares the suspicions.
Finally, I would like to mention that clauses 28 and 29 will provide the power for the Governor in Council to designate by order countries or territories whose confiscation orders, and orders for restraint of property liable to confiscation, will be enforceable in Hong Kong. We intend that this be done on the basis of reciprocity. It will enable Hong Kong to co-operate more effectively with other governments in efforts to prevent convicted drug traffickers from retaining their illegal profits by transferring them overseas.
Sir, the proposals in this Bill will require additional staff and other resources for the police, Customs and Excise Department, the Attorney General's Chamber and the Judiciary. The cost is estimated to be about $21 million in the first year of operation of the legislation, rising to approximately $28 million in five years' time and thereafter. In addition, it may be necessary to appoint public