TNAG-1995-FCO40-2842-Drug-trafficking-in-Hong-Kong-1989 — Page 174

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the Panel felt that the obligations of banks and financial institutions should be no more than reporting and that the law should indicate clearly those obligations;

the Panel considered that realistic and detailed estimates of the staff costs should be provided. At Annex D is a detailed breakdown of the staffing proposals which is an elaboration of paragraph 39, "Financial implications" of the confiscation order scheme proposed in Annex A.

the

practical

in

Panel accepted that difficulties would be encountered exhaustively tracing available property for the purpose of making a confiscation order. It agreed that cash movements especially would be extremely difficult to trace. The Panel felt that the confiscation orders scheme would be effective in indicating Hong Kong's determination to tackle the problem of drug trafficking.

Financial implications

8

The financial

implications of the automatic indebtedness scheme and the confiscation orders scheme are outlined in paragraphs 18 and 39 of Annex A repectively. The cost of the former would be $3.4 million a year and of the latter $9.16 million a year.

Consultation

9

The ICAC, the Secretary for Monetary Affairs, the Police and the Customs & Excise Department have been consulted on the Security Panel's views in paragraph 7. Some Government departments still feel that even with the provision of adequate resources, the confiscation orders scheme will be unlikely to show results. The automatic indebtedness scheme remains their preferred option. The Commisioner of Customs & Excise has reservations about the feasibility of the confiscation orders scheme in the form suggested by the Security Panel. He feels, in particular, that as a conviction for a serious drug offence would have already been obtained, and as the investigations leading to that conviction could have involved searches without warrant as provided for in the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, there is an even stronger case for the Commissioner of Police and Commissioner of Customs & Excise to be given powers of search without warrant when subsequently investing the

the assets of the convicted person.