Six Hong Kong insurance intermediaries bought bank drafts worth some HK$7.3 million for customers to settle premiums, then helped those customers falsely declare that they had purchased the drafts themselves. The Insurance Authority (IA) has banned or suspended all six for periods of six to 13 months.
The IA announced the sanctions on October 14, 2026, less than three weeks after it fined an insurer partly over customer declarations on bank drafts that did not match who had actually bought them. The regulator’s latest announcement does not refer to that earlier case.
The six are Lam Nam (licence number IE4851), Lang Chit (IH6136), Liang Shuxian (IF9212), Ng Chi Wah (JD8060), Yeung Chung Chak (IE7224), and Zhang Xindan (IM1120).
The IA’s announcement did not name their appointing insurers or specify the penalty and duration for each individual.
According to the IA, the intermediaries purchased the bank drafts on behalf of their customers, and the drafts went toward premium payments. The customers then declared that they had bought the drafts, and the six intermediaries assisted them in making those false declarations.
This conduct contravened internal controls that the appointing insurers had put in place. The IA classed the case as a breach of anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) controls.
AML obligations in Hong Kong do not rest with insurers alone. Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, the IA’s definition of insurance institutions covers authorised insurers and reinsurers carrying on long-term business, along with licenced individual agents, licenced insurance agencies, and licenced broker companies carrying on regulated activities in respect of long-term business.
Its Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (GL3) sets out the statutory and regulatory requirements and standards these institutions must meet.
On September 24, 2026, the IA fined FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited HK$19.5 million over AML control failures.
Its inspection sampled 129 bank drafts worth between HK$400,000 and HK$4.7 million each, and in 68 of the 126 cases that came with Premium Payment Declaration Forms, the policyholder, insured, or settlor who signed the form had not bought the draft.
Read more: Hong Kong AML fine puts broker and insurer controls under scrutiny
The regulator found that FWD had no effective threshold that triggered full verification of the payor’s identity in practice. It held that this breached the obligation to take all reasonable measures to mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing risk.
The sanctions on the six intermediaries consist of either a ban from becoming an insurance intermediary or a suspension of licence. Their durations range from six to 13 months.
Maria Tsui, head of enforcement at the IA, said robust internal controls are of vital importance in preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism (ML/FT) activities.
Still, she said that “strict compliance by licenced insurance intermediaries remains to be the key in safeguarding the status of Hong Kong as an international financial centre.”
“Since ML/FT offences carry heavy penalties, licenced insurance intermediaries should keep abreast of and fully observe the prevailing regulatory requirements,” Tsui added.
Hong Kong regulators have also extended checks on intermediary conduct. In July 2026, the IA and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority extended reference checking across the banking and insurance sectors, an arrangement that covers more than 110,000 intermediaries at about 1,000 institutions.
Read more: Hong Kong IA warns broker referral curbs are only the start
The IA has already taken AML action against broker firms this year. It fined ASI-Union Global Assets Management Ltd., Macroscopica International Wealth Management Ltd., and Bay Union Insurance Brokers Limited a combined HK$429,000 for deficiencies that included failures to identify third-party arrangements and to screen for politically exposed persons.
At the time, the regulator said broker companies “remain at the frontline of interaction with policy holders.”
Read next: Three insurance brokers penalised for AML compliance failures
In its March 2026 Conduct In Focus publication, the IA said AML/CFT procedures must work “not just on paper, but in day-to-day operations.” It added that failures by insurers, broker companies, or agencies subject to the AMLO may lead to proportionate disciplinary action.
The GL3 obligations apply to long-term business, a segment that continues to grow in Hong Kong. New office premiums for long-term business, excluding retirement scheme business, rose 51.1% to HK$141.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, according to IA provisional statistics released July 24.
Further information on the case is available in the “Enforcement News” section of the IA website. The licence details of all six individuals can also be checked through the IA’s Register of Licenced Insurance Intermediaries.
