344 Public Order
Hong Kong played an active role in another working group of the FATF, namely, Working Group on Evaluations and Implementation, which keeps a close watch on the mutual evaluation programme of the FATF and discusses issues which emerge from the evaluation exercise.
In the context of the FATF Non-cooperative Countries and Territories exercises, Hong Kong has been acting as the principal contact in the review exercise on Indonesia since 2000. As the primary reviewer of Indonesia, Hong Kong took the lead in coordinating the Asia/Pacific Review Group's on-site visit to Indonesia in January in order to examine its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime. Indonesia was subsequently removed from the non-cooperative list at the FATF February 2006 plenary.
To combat trans-national crimes effectively, Hong Kong continued to support mutual assistance between jurisdictions. By year-end, it had entered into 19 agreements and signed 14 bilateral agreements with other jurisdictions on the surrender of fugitive offenders.
Independent Commission Against Corruption
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is a dedicated anti- corruption agency independent of the civil service. Its Commissioner is directly. accountable to the Chief Executive.
During the year, the ICAC continued to keep corruption in check through its three-pronged strategy of investigation, prevention and community education and, as a result of sustained efforts, Hong Kong continued to be rated by international and regional surveys as one of the cleanest places in the world.
ICAC officers are often invited to share Hong Kong's anti-corruption experience at international forums. In December, the Commissioner was invited to speak about Hong Kong's anti-corruption strategies and its cooperation with overseas jurisdictions at the first Asia-Europe Meeting Prosecutors-General Conference held in Shenzhen.
The ICAC enjoyed strong public support in 2005. An overwhelming 99 per cent of the respondents to an annual survey conducted by an independent consultancy expressed their support for the Commission's work. During the year, 73 per cent of complainants revealed their identities when lodging corruption reports to the Commission, the highest percentage since its inception.
Corruption Situation
The corruption situation remained stable. In 2005, the ICAC received 3 685 corruption reports (excluding election-related complaints), a drop of 2 per cent from the previous year. Of these, 1 161 involved government departments, down from 1 286 in 2004. There were 2 247 and 277 reports concerning the private sector and public bodies respectively, compared with 2 176 and 284 in 2004.
Of the 76 election-related reports received during the year, 45 were related to the Legislative Council Elections held in 2004 while 22 concerned the District Council Elections held in 2003. The remaining nine complaints arose from the Chief Executive