The Hindu Business Line : ICICI Bank fined Rs 2.2 lakh by HK court

Mumbai April 11 ICICI Bank has been fined Rs 2.2 lakh by the Eastern Magistrate's Court, Hong Kong, for dealing in securities (mutual funds and other fee-based products) without a licence between June 15, 2004 and March 8, 2006, at its Hong Kong branch.

The bank has been fined by the Court in response to a charge filed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hong Kong, for dealing in securities sans a licence. ICICI Bank has also been ordered to reimburse investigation costs to the SFC.

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the bank said it had never authorised violation of law and expects and requires the highest standards of ethical conduct, and legal and regulatory compliance from its staff.

According to the bank, the contravention was limited to a small segment of the branch's business in Hong Kong and has not resulted in any loss either to the bank's customers or to the bank.

Since May 2006, the existing customers concerned have been serviced directly by the head office.

"Based on the findings of an internal review conducted upon the discovery of this incident in April 2006, the bank has taken appropriate accountability actions against the relevant staff whose conduct resulted in the contravention," said the BSE announcement.

Compliance measures

The statement further adds the bank has since implemented measures to strengthen the compliance, monitoring and control functions at the Hong Kong branch. It has also brought in a new management team in early 2006, under the leadership of Mr Madhav Kalyan.

More Stories on : Courts/Legal Issues | Mutual Funds | Private Banks | ICICI Bank Ltd

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