Commissioner of Customs and Excise hosts luncheon for Consul-General of India to Hong Kong (with photos)

     The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, had a luncheon with the Consul-General of India to Hong Kong, Ms Satwant Khanalia, and the consulate staff at the Customs Headquarters Building today (July 15).

     In her welcoming remarks, Ms Ho said Hong Kong Customs has formally taken on the role of Vice-Chairperson for the Asia/Pacific (A/P) region of the World Customs Organization starting this month for a period of two years. She thanked the Indian Customs for its support and trust and stressed that Hong Kong Customs will strive to safeguard multilateralism, promote international co-operation, enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement in the region, and foster the sustainable prosperity of the A/P region.

     Furthermore, Ms Ho said she was pleased to witness the close collaboration between the Consulate General of India in Hong Kong and the Indian Customs with Hong Kong Customs. Through intelligence exchange, Hong Kong Customs has recently detected two cross-boundary money laundering cases, which involved about $14.5 billion in total and used trade activities to cover the criminal proceeds, fully demonstrating the determination of both parties in combating cross-boundary crimes. She expressed her hope that the two Customs authorities would continue to strengthening co-operation to promote regional development agendas. 

     Ms Ho added that a regional forum on combating transnational organised crimes will be held in December this year, and the ways to more effectively crack down on cross-boundary money laundering activities will be one of the important topics. While enforcement representatives of the A/P region, Consuls-general and foreign Customs attachés, as well as private stakeholders, will be invited to attend, Ms Ho took the opportunity to appeal to the Consulate General of India in Hong Kong and the Indian Customs to also take part in the event.