Abstract This study assesses Hong Kong’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime by examining regulatory compliance, prosecution results, supervision of the non-financial sector, and alignment with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. Analysis of 194 jurisdictions with FATF evaluation data (2019–2023) indicates Hong Kong’s technical compliance is high (70/100), but enforcement gaps remain, including limited cross-border prosecutions and inconsistent supervision of the non-financial sector. This study benchmarks AML/CFT measures, underscores the compliance challenges faced by jurisdictions and financial centres, and situates Hong Kong’s issues within the context of global governance using institutional and regulatory theories.
Tang et al. (2025) studied this question.